


Wings in my Soul (Stars in my Eyes)

by feignedsobriquet, mistrstank (dreamingdarkly), Trashcanakin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AI Tony, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Cyborg Bucky, Cyborgs, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Howard Stark's Good Parenting, IN SPACE!, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark, Space Battles, Space Pirates, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25306483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feignedsobriquet/pseuds/feignedsobriquet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingdarkly/pseuds/mistrstank, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashcanakin/pseuds/Trashcanakin
Summary: “Who, or what are you?” Bucky slowly climbs to his feet and the fact the hologram is shorter than him tugs a reluctant smile onto Bucky’s face.“Oh! I’m star-traveller model T-0N33!” The hologram smiles and gestures at the ship around them in one expansive movement.“Your name is Tony, and you’re the ship?”The hologram frowns and it’s head tilts to the side again.“Tony,” It repeats thoughtfully. “No, that isn’t my designation. Do you think I should have a name instead?”~×~After being spaced when his ship is destroyed, Bucky assumes his life on the run is over. His life is unexpectedly saved by one of the most advanced spaceships he’s ever seen, and the sentient AI running it. T-0N33 is so real, Bucky quickly finds himself questioning how thin the line is between machine and man. Together, they flee from HYDRA’s spreading influence and the megalomaniac Technopath, Zola. Throughout space battles and hijinks, they ask themselves: Can an AI have a soul and more importantly, can they fall in love?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 262
Collections: Winteriron Bang





	Wings in my Soul (Stars in my Eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this was a journey and a half to finish! I sat on the idea of AI Spaceship Tony for a long time, and the longer I sat on it the bigger and bigger the idea grew!
> 
> I'm not sure if I'm entirely happy with the end result, but I worked really hard and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> This is something of a prequel, and this definitely has a sequel planned to resolve some of the outstanding conflicts.
> 
> Big thanks to Inky, my beta.
> 
> Further thanks to my very patient artists, Trash and Sobri. Your work is, as always, flawless and I am utterly unworthy 💙

**Wings in my Soul (Stars in my Eyes)**

#  Part One

Bucky Barnes starts life as a Dirt Walker, born to a planet-based family of modest means and loving temperament. From the moment he first opens his eyes, there is a spark inside him, his soul  _ reaching  _ for something he won’t be able to name for many, many years. He grows up a troublemaker with a too-wide smile; with dimples that see him skate through with a mere slap on the wrist to show for his troubles. His gaze is trained forever upward and his heart yearns for the stars. He dreams of lightspeed travel and distant planets, of thrilling space battles and the wonders of a world so vast he feels immeasurably tiny in comparison.

“You’ve got wings in your soul.” His mother tells him when he is still young and he remembers thinking how ridiculous that sounded at the time. Mostly, he thinks it’s a nicer way of phrasing the words Bucky hears all his childhood.

“Get your head out of the clouds, James!” His father, his teachers, his siblings and  _ everyone  _ will say at one point or another. Bucky ignores them, as he does most things he disagrees with.

The clouds don’t interest Bucky in the slightest. No, he wants the  _ stars. _

Years later, floating through space in a suit with rapidly depleting oxygen levels, Bucky can’t help but think his younger self was a slaggin’  _ fool. _

Bucky grunts quietly as a broken piece of his ship's wing clips him in the side and sends him spiralling off in a new direction. The rest of his ship, what little survived the explosion, spreads about him in a halo of destruction. He thinks he can see a piece of the pilot’s chair and how the fuck did that survive? 

The suit alarm beeps again, telling him he’s down to three minutes of oxygen and Bucky  _ hates  _ his life. He knows it’s useless but he taps at the interface built into his cybernetic arm anyway, looking for a signal. At this point, he’d even take a damn HYDRA ship.

Anything not to die cold and alone in the vacuum of space, suffocating in a suit designed for short space walks. He thinks on some level he should be terrified, but mostly he’s just...tired. Tired and  _ pissed,  _ because after everything he’s survived; wars, HYDRA, escaping HYDRA and living on the run. After everything, this is how he ends.

Stranded in space over a  _ slagging card game. _

The interface beeps sadly and informs him there’s no one within a light-jump of this area, which pretty much shoots down any hope of rescue. Something bumps him from behind and Bucky finds himself turning a slow, nauseating circle until he’s floating upside down.

_ Slag it. _

Another piece bounces off his shoulder and Bucky watches dispassionately as it twirls away into the distance. Emptiness spreads in every direction; nothing but the asteroid field lazily drifting past and the remnants of his home. Somehow, looking down at it is far worse, like a gaping black maw ready to swallow him. The worst part about space, he thinks, is that it’s soundless. He has nothing but the sound of his breathing echoing harshly inside the helmet and the slow, endless drift. There’s nothing to fight, nothing to rage against. He can’t scream, because no one will hear him and it’s a waste of what little oxygen he has. All he can do is wait and watch the numbers count down on his display.

Two minutes. The screen flickers and changes to one minute.

“What the fuck?” Bucky whispers in horror, tapping at the display as though the numbers will change. 

It does; it changes to 30 seconds.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Bucky frantically feels at the back of the helmet, traces the lines of the oxygen tubing and easily locates the irregular feel of a tear. Something’s torn his O2 lines. His time’s run out. Finally the terror kicks in, as death stops being minutes away and becomes a whole lot more imminent. His body screams at him to fight, to  _ survive  _ and he scrabbles at the oxygen lines, as though he can somehow hold the leaking oxygen in with only his hands. He twists and wriggles and yet for all the violence of his movements, with no gravity to push against he merely floats along; his last, desperate struggles as meaningless as his death will be.

The seconds count down on his screen, but Bucky doesn’t need to see the zero to know when the oxygen runs out. He tries to inhale and there’s  _ nothing there.  _ His lungs seize immediately, burning as they scramble for oxygen that just isn’t there. His vision darkens at the edges even as his limbs slowly stop their flailing, the strength in the muscles going. He can feel his cybernetic implants trying to compensate, but there’s no oxygen and he’s still mostly human.

He pictures Steve’s face, the friend he left behind and then was too much a coward to face when he finally escaped HYDRA. He thinks he should have tried harder, maybe sent him a message, tried to reclaim more of Bucky Barnes instead of running from all the broken pieces of himself.

Something moves on the edge of his vision, a huge shape coming closer and he gets the briefest glimpse of red.

And then darkness.

~x~

Bucky wakes up, which is an incredible surprise. 

Awareness trickles in slowly as the cybernetic portion of his brain starts the reboot process. He becomes aware of cold metal under his back, the gentle vibrations of an engine. He's on a ship, one that his HYDRA upgraded equipment apparently couldn't detect. He can't hear a heartbeat and his implants report no life signs nearby. He's alone, wherever they've left him. His head is aching from the oxygen deprivation, and Bucky allows himself a quiet groan.

“Oh, good!” A voice says, and Bucky's eyes snap open. There's a man leaning over him and he's torn between panic because  _ no life signs  _ and curiosity, as his implants helpfully identify the fact the man is partially transparent. The hologram is of a man Bucky might otherwise have thought handsome, with dark coloured hair and lively brown eyes. The projection makes him look strangely...flat.

“You're alive. That's great, because you see I was quite busy and I interrupted what I was doing to come scoop you out of deadspace, and it would have been really rude of you to go and  _ die. _ ” The hologram continues, undaunted by Bucky's silence.

“What?”

The hologram straightens up and cocks it’s head to the side slightly. “Basic etiquette! You just don’t die on your rescuer’s doorstep.” 

“Etiquette…” Bucky repeats slowly, thoroughly confused. What has he gotten himself into?

“Do you have brain damage? According to my databanks, that’s something that can happen to humans. Do you feel brain damaged? How many fingers am I holding up? I’m kidding, that’s for concussions and I don’t actually have fingers.” A grin flashes over the projection’s face as it holds two fingers in the air for a moment and then flicks them away with a shrug.

“Who, or  _ what  _ are you?” Bucky slowly climbs to his feet and the fact the hologram is shorter than him tugs a reluctant smile onto Bucky’s face.

“Oh! I’m star-traveller model T-0N33!” The hologram smiles and gestures at the ship around them in one expansive movement.

“Your name is Tony, and you’re the ship?”

The hologram frowns and it’s head tilts to the side again. 

“Tony,” It repeats thoughtfully. “No, that isn’t my designation. Do you think I should have a name instead?”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to say than T-0N33.” Bucky shrugs and walks a little closer to the hologram. It’s impressively lifelike; the ones he’s seen on space stations might look human, but they never have the kind of lively emotion he can see in this one’s face. 

“What are you? I’ve never seen a hologram like you before.”

“I’m star-traveller model T-0N33! New Designation:  _ Tony. _ You appear to be suffering some short term memory loss. According to my databanks on humans, this is a normal if concerning side effect of oxygen deprivation. I have some rudimentary scanning capabilities, but I’m afraid I’m not a medical ship. Standby!” A small panel slides open on the wall and Bucky finds himself promptly bathed in blue light.

“I’m fine, would you cut that out?” He’s struck with the weird urge to cover himself, the thought of being scanned making him distinctly uncomfortable. “I meant what  _ are  _ you? An AI? A recording?” 

Tony blinks, actually blinks at him, and then he beams. “Oh! Well, I suppose you might call me the ship AI, but that’s not technically accurate. Here, I’ll show you!” Tony flickers, and then appears to turn around and start walking away. Bemused, Bucky trails in his wake, watching the tiny lights on either side of the hallway that he assumes are projecting Tony’s hologram. He’s never seen a hologram that could change locations so fluidly, the ship apparently designed to give Tony free reign. Whoever designed the ship was clearly a genius, and Bucky can’t help but wonder what Tony is doing all the way out here.

“It’s been a long time since there’s been anyone but me here,” Tony turns to walk backwards, his arms swinging wide on either side of him. He reminds Bucky a little of an excited child. It would be endearing, if this whole situation wasn’t so damn  _ weird. _

__ “Not since Creator left.” 

“Where’s the crew?” Bucky glances around as they’re walking; they’re in a long, straight stretch of corridor, bisected by several doors which open automatically as they approach. The only sounds are their voices and Bucky’s footsteps, echoing hollowly. His cybernetics still report no lifesigns, though they’re struggling to scan through the walls. What the hell is this ship  _ made of _ ?

“I don’t have a crew,” Tony’s smile drops, and for a moment he looks a little wistful. “Just me.” 

“Sounds perfect,” Bucky responds, thinking of days alone on his ship with nothing but the stars for company. Tony hums, but doesn’t otherwise respond. He stops before a much larger door which remains closed. Bucky spots a scanner to the side which he assumes is for identity checking, but after a brief pause the door slides open without his input.

  
“This,” Tony decrees with a dramatic wave of his arm. “Is my brain.” 

Tony flickers out of sight for a moment and when he appears he’s in the middle of the room. Bucky steps cautiously inside; it’s a rounded room with a single chair in the middle. Beyond a few buttons and switches on the walls, there’s largely no control panel to speak of, and yet Bucky is absolutely sure this is the cockpit. The huge wall to wall window that displays the stars beyond is a pretty good indicator. 

“Your brain?” Bucky spins a slow circle, ending up facing Tony, who looks back with an almost shy smile.

“Yes, I’m the ship,” Tony points at the chair. “This is where my Captain would sit, if I had one. I’ve never had a Captain, though.”

Bucky runs a hand lightly across the top of the captain’s chair, not surprised to find a layer of dust comes off in his wake. “How long have you been alone, Tony?”

Tony’s hologram flickers and his expression briefly freezes on something sorrowful and heartbreakingly lonely. A moment later and it’s gone, Tony reappearing just in front of the viewing window, giving Bucky his back. Bucky regrets the question immediately; how can a machine look so  _ sad _ ? 

The silence stretches and an awkward tension builds between them. Bucky shifts uneasily, the soft mechanical whir of his arm the only sound in the room. He can feel the hum of the ship beneath his boots, and his implants tell him the engine is running, but it's so  _ quiet.  _

"I don't know if I thanked you, before," Bucky finally says, throws the words out as a barrier against that silence. Funny, how he usually likes the quiet, but maybe he's been alone too long. "For saving my life, that is."

Tony turns back to face him, and now the smile is back, though it's not the beaming expression of before. "You're most welcome," He says, rocking back on his heels. Bucky is struck again by how alive Tony seems, right down to unconscious mannerisms. Whoever programmed him was clearly a genius. "According to my data banks, that means you owe me a favour, correct?"

Bucky blinks, caught completely off guard. "Uh, usually. I guess," He says, slowly. What could he possibly do for a  _ ship _ ? "What do you want?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Tony bounces a little, and flickers across the room so that he's standing next to the chair. "You're down a ship, and I need a captain. Specifically, I need those beefy arms and legs of yours!"

"You need my  _ what?" _

"I don't know if you've noticed there, Lefty but I'm hardly  _ solid,"  _ Tony waves an arm in Bucky's direction, the limb appearing to almost 'fizz out' rather than making actual contact.

“Okay, so you need me to do...what exactly?” 

“My hyperdrive is broken,” Tony glances down for a second, his expression sheepish. “And it’s not something I can fix, because I don’t have hands. I got lucky this time, finding you, but I don’t want to risk being alone if this happens again.”

“Uh, I would really love to help you with that, but I’m not an engineer, Tony,”

“I can guide you through how to fix it,” Tony dismisses with a lazy hand wave. “I just need someone who can physically, you know,  _ touch  _ the things I need repaired.”

Bucky scrubs a hand over his face and turns slowly to look at the empty captain’s chair, if only to get away from the strangely intent look on Tony's face. He imagines drifting out in deadspace, alone in every sense of the word, and a chill slides down his spine.

“I can try and help with your hyperdrive, but I really can’t promise anything beyond that,” is what Bucky finally settles on. He’s a wanted man, after all, and HYDRA owns more territories than they don’t. 

“Excellent! Follow me, and I’ll show you where it is.” Tony motions as though to clap his hands together, though it makes no sound and in fact causes his hands to fuzz out momentarily. He looks a little startled by the action, as though he hadn’t meant to do it; Tony tilts his head a little to the side, putting Bucky in mind of a curious cat, and then he moves away down the corridor.

~x~

A frustrating hour later, Bucky sits back with a sigh and drops the tools into the box at his hip. He stretches automatically, even as his cybernetics work to soothe the cramped muscles in his spine.

“It’s no use, Tony,” He says, regretfully. “Pretty sure it’s dead.”

“Impossible,” Tony’s hologram leans in over Bucky’s shoulder, the proximity sending weird feedback through Bucky’s cybernetics, which insist  _ no one is there.  _ “It’s powered by proprietary ARC reactor energy.”

Bucky gestures at the panel he’d been hunched over for the last hour. Inside, an incomprehensible mass of wires thread across a metal plate, embedded in which is a round disk of metal that Tony said was supposed to be glowing. He pokes at it gingerly; the hyperdrive gives one last feeble spark and then dies.

“It has to be the connector ports,” Tony says on a sigh, and something about his tone of voice has Bucky twisting to make eye contact. “That isn’t something we can fix with what we have on board. We need to replace the whole port.”

“We’re in the middle of deadspace, Tony. Unless there’s some convenient salvage around, and I know for a fact there isn’t, since my ship  _ blew up _ , I dunno where you’re expectin’ to find this connector thing.” 

“There’s an outpost, it should only take a few days as fast as I can fly,” Tony flickers to a panel, which lights up at his approach. Bucky rolls to his feet as a shockingly detailed navigational chart projects across the screen. He watches as a little marker he presumes to be Tony appears and a golden line traces across the screen to…

_ Syberea.  _

“Oh, you gotta be kiddin’ me,” Bucky growls, and reaches up to run a frustrated hand through his hair. “We can’t go there, Tony! First of all, it’s a HYDRA outpost, and second of all, ‘a few days’? Without a hyperdrive, that’s at least a month!”

“For a  _ regular  _ ship, maybe,” Tony sneers, and oh great, of course Bucky would find a snobby AI. “I’ll grant you a HYDRA outpost isn’t ideal, but we need those parts.”

“Well, if you’re so slaggin’ fast, why can’t we go somewhere  _ not  _ HYDRA?” 

“According to my databanks, the average lifespan of a human male is 109 years, with enhanced humans living slightly longer at 115,” Tony informs him primly, eyeing Bucky in a way that makes him feel uncomfortably  _ seen.  _ “The closest outpost not affiliated with HYDRA is over 300 lightyears away without a hyperdrive. You would be  _ dust,  _ Bucky.”

“Why couldn’t you have left me spaced?” Bucky groans, raising his eyes as though asking for divine intervention. “Alright, fine, but I want it known I think this is a slaggin’ stupid idea and we’re both going to die.”

Tony opens his mouth and Bucky holds up a hand. “I swear on the stars, Tony, if you’re about to tell me you’re not actually alive, I  _ will  _ drive us into the nearest black hole.”

Tony pouts, and Bucky resolutely ignores how adorable the expression is. There’s a short silence and then Tony sighs, sounding put upon. “We’ll be  _ fine _ ,” Is what he settles on, in one of the most ominous statements Bucky has heard in a while. “I’ll meet you in my brain!” 

“Oh my god, can we not call it your brain?” Bucky complains to a suddenly empty room. He spends a few moments packing the tools away, until he has to admit he’s stalling. Without Tony’s running commentary, the halls of the ship are eerily silent as Bucky makes his way towards the cockpit. It’s a strange thing to notice, when he’d never felt so uncomfortable on his own ship. Then again, Bucky’s ship had only been large enough for a crew of one. Tony is clearly large enough for a decent crew, and yet the brightly lit hallways echo with the sound of Bucky’s footsteps and nothing else.

The cockpit doors slide open as Bucky approaches and he finds Tony standing next to the captain’s chair, rocking back and forth on his heels and grinning brightly. 

“So how exactly do we do this?” Bucky comes to stand in front of the chair, but doesn’t sit down. “I don’t see any controls.” 

“That’s because  _ I’m  _ the controls,” Tony sniffs haughtily and though he’s trying to seem unaffected, Bucky can see the almost quivering eagerness. “You sit down in the chair and engage the interface. Lucky for you, that’s a lot easier with your implants.” 

“That sounds ominous,” Bucky mutters but he perches gingerly in the chair regardless. It’s surprisingly comfortable and when nothing painful or otherwise world ending happens, he finds himself relaxing into it. The left armrest glows blue briefly and after an encouraging gesture from Tony, Bucky rests his metal hand lightly on the surface. An immediate tingle races up his arm; a strange, though hardly painful sensation. The metal on the armrest appears to ripple and then lines of gold race up over his hand and up the arm, like veins.

“Oh!” Bucky hears Tony say, distantly. His implants feel like they’re all lighting up and then with what seems like an internal ‘click’, Tony is  _ there.  _ He can’t tell where he ends and Tony begins, but they’re suddenly an interwoven whole. He is both Bucky Barnes, sitting in the captain’s chair, and Tony,  _ the ship.  _ He can feel the beat of his own heart and the warm fire of the ship’s core. He can feel the breath in his lungs and the air cycling vents oxygenating the ship. 

Excitement fills him and a warm sense of belonging; it takes him several moments to realise the emotions aren’t coming from  _ him.  _ He’s feeling  _ Tony’s  _ emotions. They’re deeper and more complex than he’d expect for an AI, flashing by so fast he can barely get a grasp of them before they’re gone.

“I didn’t know,” Tony’s hologram steps in front of him. He looks different; somehow sharper, and more solid. His eyes are wide and Bucky thinks if he could, Tony might be crying.

“Tony, this is…” Bucky’s voice chokes off, even as his mind finishes the thought. Amazing, overwhelming, terrifying, _right._ He hadn’t thought he was lonely, in fact he’d felt safer alone. But now, with Tony’s warmth filling the empty spaces Bucky hadn’t even noticed, he’s never felt safer. “How do I, you know?”

The words have barely left Bucky’s mouth when a series of holograms spring up in the air around him. Bucky pokes gingerly at one screen with his free hand and jolts when the hologram responds with the navigational chart Tony had shown him before. The other screens scroll through information faster than Bucky can follow, but he can  _ feel  _ Tony manipulating them. He can feel when the ship starts accelerating, a corresponding burn in his legs as though he’s started running.

“Next stop, Syberea!” Tony’s voice chirps, and excitement thrums along their bond.

“We are  _ definitely  _ going to die.”

~x~

Syberea is a tiny, frozen little hellscape barely large enough to be a planet. The surface is well below freezing and completely uninhabitable for most species; in fact, it would likely have been ignored completely in the expansion of the galaxy if it wasn’t for the mineral rich caves beneath the surface. The tiny blue marble looms out of the darkness surprisingly quickly, the journey passing far faster than Bucky is used to.

“I  _ told  _ you I’m faster,” Tony grumps, leaning forward over Bucky’s shoulder. If he didn’t know Tony was a hologram, Bucky would swear he could feel the warmth from Tony’s body. 

“I really wasn’t in a hurry.” Bucky eyes the planet nervously. Syberea isn’t one of HYDRA’s bigger outposts, but he’d visited it once or twice as the Winter Soldier, and he’s definitely not eager to be back. Warmth presses at him as Tony floods the bond with comfort and concern, almost like a mental hug.

“We just need those parts, and then we’re out of here.” Tony’s voice goes gentle, in a way Bucky would find condescending if he couldn’t literally feel Tony’s emotions. 

“Right, no problem.” Bucky mutters and directs the ship down into the atmosphere with a mere thought. Tony’s ship glides through the atmosphere with barely a hitch and though Bucky knows the harsh winter winds must be battering the ship, it never falters.

The outpost is a collection of grim looking bunkers, huddled pathetically close under a small orange forcefield. Supposedly, the force field protects the outpost from the brutal temperatures and winter storms. Mostly, it just means it’s not cold enough for you to actually  _ die,  _ but definitely cold enough to wish you would. 

An incoming hail pops up on Bucky’s screens and he taps it open; a benign seeming request for their business on the outpost and their identification key. Even as Bucky reads the notification, he can feel Tony sending data back through to the outpost.

“Do you even have an identification key?” Bucky asks, mostly out of curiosity, but partly out of concern HYDRA might track them in the future. 

“Nope,” He can’t see Tony, but he can  _ hear  _ the grin in his voice. “I hacked their logs for a simple trade ship code. Nothing of interest here.” 

The authorisation to land comes through a moment later and Bucky guides them towards the field. It flickers briefly at their approach, and a moment later they’re through and gliding smoothly down to land. The moment the ship settles, the gold retracts from Bucky’s hand and the sense of the ship slowly fades away. It feels a little like waking from a dream, and Bucky feels surprisingly stiff when he stands.

“It feels weird, leavin’ you here by yourself.” Bucky admits, strangely discomfited by the sense of being alone in his mind. Tony hums quietly, and steps around to stand in front of Bucky.

“I have an idea,” He says after a moment and gestures back at the chair. “Plug your hand back in for a second?” 

Bucky places his hand back on the chair, with none of the hesitation he’d previously had. The gold flows up again and his neural implants buzz; there’s a brief feeling not unlike a static shock and then the chair goes dark. He can tell he’s disconnected from the ship again but he can still feel Tony, though the connection is fainter.

“What did you do?” 

“I created a connection with your neural implants,” Tony rocks back on his heels, and Bucky’s pretty sure he’s nervous, though he can’t feel it. “Sort of like a comm? It’s not the same as when you’re plugged in, but we can communicate through it.” 

_ Like this.  _ Tony says, but his hologram’s lips don’t move. 

_ Handy, that.  _ Bucky tries, clumsily forming the thought and shoving it at the sensation of Tony at the back of his mind. Tony grins at him, and Bucky figures he’d heard it.  _ Don’t suppose you have any weapons on board?  _

Bucky shoves his nerves to the back of his mind and makes his way down to the airlock, even as all his instincts scream at him to take Tony and get the hell away from HYDRA. 

_ Nothing usable, I don’t think.  _ Tony sounds regretful, and as he should. The thought of going out there with no weapon makes Bucky want to simultaneously scream in terror and break something. He checks a few of the lockers in the air lock just in case Tony might have forgotten something, but all he finds is a thick jacket a size too small for him. He squeezes into it regardless, figuring it’ll help to hide his metal arm.

_ Alright,  _ he projects with forced calm.  _ If I’m not back in an hour, or something goes wrong and we lose contact, get out of here. _

_ I think I would be a pretty bad ship,  _ Tony muses back.  _ If I left my Captain behind.  _

As they’re speaking, the ramp slowly lowers and Bucky steps out into the frigid air. His breath immediately mists in front of his face, and he’s even more grateful for the uncomfortable jacket. He turns to glance back at Tony once he’s on the ground, and Bucky can’t help the way he’s eyebrows lift. This is the first look he’s gotten at Tony from the outside, and he is...loud. The red and gold gleams brightly even in the dim lighting of Syberea; he’s a ship of elegant lines, built for speed. There isn’t a lot of bulky weaponry, and yet the sleek, gleaming metal carries an aura of danger regardless. 

_ You couldn’t have picked a less conspicuous colour scheme?  _ Bucky sends, feeling an exasperated sort of fondness for the AI.

_ I’ll have you know, I didn’t choose my own colour scheme.  _ Comes Tony’s reply, in a familiarly haughty tone.  _ But I happen to like it just fine. _

Tony falls silent after that, likely sensing Bucky’s concentration shifting away from their conversation. Syberea boasts a fairly small population, and as he crosses the frozen ground towards the outpost proper, Bucky can’t help the shiver of apprehension he feels. Smaller populations means outsiders stand out, and Bucky is someone who really can’t afford to stand out. He moves quickly through the empty streets, keeping his head down and his shoulders hunched to present a smaller figure. His implants automatically take note of everyone he passes, scanning them for potentially hidden weapons and measuring their potential threat level.

The market is a small one, with only a few people shuffling listlessly from stall to stall. 

_ Well, this is perfectly miserable.  _ Tony’s voice whispers quietly at the back of his mind, just soft enough it doesn’t automatically startle Bucky. 

_ You can see?  _ Bucky sends back, even as most of his attention is on scanning the parts he can see on display in the stalls.

_ For a definition,  _ Tony replies and he sounds amused.  _ Your implants feed me data, not really visuals. I’m just hypothesising from the data and my own imagination.  _

_ Not helpful, Tony. I have no idea what I’m looking for. _

Bucky switches his attention to the stall owners; he might not know much about ship parts, but he knows people. He quickly identifies the one he needs; a tired looking old man with only a few teeth. His expression is folded into an unfriendly scowl, skinny arms folded tightly across a chest. Not the most honest merchant there, but one who won’t ask questions and who’ll be more interested in finishing the sale. Bucky weaves his way around people until he’s faced with watery blue eyes narrowed in a glare.

“I need hyperdrive connector ports.” Bucky leans one hip against the man’s counter, ignoring the way his eyes narrow further. The old man turns away with a grumble and steps into the back of his stall. He’s gone a few moments, and Bucky can hear the sounds of metal being shifted around. When he reappears, he’s carrying a small metal box which he thumps down on the counter between them. 

“Only got 3,” His voice is a harsh crackle, as though he spends a lot of time sick. “Dunno which you’ll be needin’.” He flicks the lid of the box open and spins it to face Bucky. Bucky blinks down at the parts uncomprehendingly; he can just feel panic setting in when he feels a sort of...itch, in his mind.

His implant goes hot for a second and then suddenly it’s scanning the parts and sending the data back to Tony. 

“This one,” Bucky finds himself saying, utterly sure now where before he’d had no clue.

“50,000 credits,” The man pulls the box back towards him, and his eyes seem to gleam. “And before ya think about tryin’ to haggle, this here’s the only outpost round these parts, and you won’ make it t’ another without this.” 

“Done,” Bucky snaps; he’s more interested in getting  _ away  _ than haggling over a few credits. Besides, the guy has him over a barrel and they both know it. The merchant blinks and then his lips twitch as though he wants to smile but doesn’t know how. He holds up a datapad and Bucky taps his credit chit against it. He’s not exactly running low on funds, but 50,000 is going to hurt him more than he’d like. Still, he supposes if he sticks with Tony, he can take on jobs he would usually have avoided because his ship wouldn’t cope. Bucky takes the packaged part and spins away with a muttered ‘thanks’. The market has filled a little more while in the short time he was organising his purchase and Bucky’s skin crawls.

_ Bucky, you might want to hurry.  _ Tony murmurs, and even without the full link Bucky can feel his concern.  _ I appear to be attracting some interest.  _

Bucky curses under his breath and picks up the pace, weaving through people with more haste than caution. He makes it out of the market with only a few jostled passersby and onto the relatively quieter streets. He’s not sure what makes him look up; instinct, maybe, since his cybernetics aren’t reporting any unusual data. For whatever reason, he passes into a narrow alleyway and looks up, in time to see a dark shadow descending down upon him. Clutching the part against his chest, Bucky dives forward and rolls up onto his feet.

“Really, Soldat, you thought a  _ jacket  _ was going to fool us?” 

Bucky turns slowly, straightening his shoulders against the automatic instinct to hunch down. 

“Rumlow,” He returns evenly, keeping his expression neutral. He can feel Tony’s sharpened attention, but the AI is thankfully silent. “Honestly, I hoped you weren’t looking.” 

Rumlow smirks, the expression somehow more ominous for the mess of cybernetics that make up half his face. “Oh, we never  _ stopped  _ looking for you,” He purrs and takes a step forward. “You’ve been a very naughty asset.” 

Bucky scans the rest of the alley, but Rumlow appears to be alone. Bucky is pretty sure he could take him, but Rumlow’s expression smacks of confidence and it makes Bucky nervous.

_ Bucky, I’m picking up some strange energy readings -  _ Tony’s voice warns a moment too late.

Rumlow flashes some sort of hand signal and Bucky turns, too late. Something impacts against his chest, and he barely has time to register the stinging before fire suddenly races along his limbs and his cybernetics  _ scream.  _

_ Time to come home, Soldat.  _ Zola’s voice slides oily smooth through his mind and Bucky feels like he’s drowning. Zola is suddenly everywhere, pressing down on Bucky until he starts to feel disconnected from his body. He can feel Zola shoving at Tony’s presence and the connection spools out, growing thinner by the moment. Oh god, it’s like the chair but he’s not  _ in the chair  _ but it doesn’t matter because he’s being erased, again.

Bucky fights, claws desperately for control of his body, but his cybernetics are a large part of his brain and Zola  _ owns  _ them and his body isn’t responding.

_ Tony, Tony help me!  _

Distantly, Bucky wonders if he’s screaming out loud or if the losing battle for his agency is an entirely internal one. He reaches for the connection to Tony, frantic for some sort of tether as Zola bears down even harder upon him. He can hear Zola whispering the trigger words, and Bucky quails before them.

And then Tony is just  _ there.  _ Their connection flares, and his cybernetics burn hot at the fresh download of data. 

_ Get  _ away  _ from him!  _ Tony’s voice overrides everything for a second and Zola falters briefly. Bucky is suddenly a spectator in his own mind, as Tony and Zola shove ferociously at each other. He’s aware, suddenly, that he’s kneeling in the middle of the alley and Rumlow is watching with a confident smirk. He can feel the cold pressing in through his pants, the bulky package he’s still somehow clutching. He can’t move yet, but he can  _ feel.  _

_ What is this?  _ Zola’s voice is fainter and Bucky’s head is pounding from the transfer of data but he can feel the tidal wave of  _ Tony  _ pushing Zola out and can only be thankful.

_ Bucky, get...to the ship.  _ Tony sounds strained, as though if he could he would be gritting his teeth.  _ This is...very difficult...to do at a distance.  _

There’s one more, internal heave that feels a little like his stomach is swooping and then suddenly  _ Bucky  _ is in control once more. Zola is gone, though the dirty, oily feel of him clings and Bucky wishes he could scrub his own brain. Tony is gone too, the connection turned thin and wispy; part of him is concerned, but mostly Bucky is relieved to be the only one in his head. He scrabbles at his chest and rips the projectile from his skin. He doesn't bother with a close examination of whatever it is - beyond knowing it was clearly how Zola made contact - and crushes it in his fist. Bucky launches to his feet and Rumlow has a split second to realise what’s happening before Bucky plants his metal fist in that smirking visage.

Rumlow keels over, and Bucky would love to stick around and lay a little more hurt on him, but he’s not naive enough to believe Rumlow is the only one aware of his presence now. He takes off for the docks, focusing on the burn in his muscles so he doesn’t have to think about how close he just came to being  _ theirs  _ again. 

“You can’t run forever,  _ Asset! _ ” Rumlow hollers from behind him, sounding slightly more nasal than before. Bucky can hear distant shouts, and he curses up a storm - he’d hoped to have more time. He bursts from between the buildings like the Devil himself is on his tail, which he supposes is not entirely inaccurate.

The ship is hovering about ten feet in the air, engines whining and whipping flurries of snow from the ground. There’s a squadron of HYDRA soldiers gathered around the edges of the docks, weapons trained upwards. Bucky takes it all in at a glance but doesn’t slow down; he’s halfway across the open ground before HYDRA must realise who he is and start firing. Bucky throws himself forward into a roll, grits his teeth through a blast grazing a line of fire along his flesh arm. Tony must sense him coming as the ship suddenly turns neatly in place, in a way Bucky thinks should be impossible, and fires a beam of blue light with a high pitched whine. Several more shots fire and Bucky doesn’t waste the cover Tony is offering him. He lunges back to his feet and keeps running through a hail of fire, though he’s got no real clue how he’s going to somehow learn to  _ fly.  _

Tony solves that problem too, and as Bucky approaches the ship drops down low, hatch already lowered. Another blast catches his leg and Bucky fumbles the jump, crashing ungracefully to his knees on the ramp. The pain overwhelms everything for a moment and Bucky curls around the injured limb, barely noticing as the ramp swiftly lifts him into the safety of the ship. Almost immediately, he finds himself flattened to the floor as the ship ascends sharply. 

“Bucky! Get up!” Tony’s voice snaps from...somewhere; a speaker, presumably. He sounds harried and exhausted. “I need that hyperdrive fixed,  _ now.” _

Bucky hauls himself up onto his knees, open mouthed panting through the nauseating pain. The package looks a little worse for wear, but he’s pretty sure the ports will be fine. “In case you weren’t aware,” He gets out through gritted teeth as he makes the slow journey onto his feet. “There’s a slagging  _ forcefield  _ they can lock down.”

“Oh thanks, I hadn’t noticed!” Tony snipes back. “I can handle the forcefield, but if you don’t get the hyperdrive working, we’re dead anyway!”

Bucky curses under his breath and pushes his body into a limping jog, clutching the parts close with his metal arm.

“I hope you remembered I’m  _ not an engineer, _ ” He yells in no particular direction. The ship jerks wildly to one side and Bucky crashes against the wall, thankfully with his metal shoulder. He barely has the chance to get his feet under him before the ship swings back the other way and sends Bucky tumbling again. This time, it’s his already injured arm he lands on and his leg screams as it tries to adjust to the shifts in gravity. “Tony, what the hell!”

“I’m  _ busy! _ ” 

Bucky drops down onto his hands and knees, jerkily shoving the parts inside the jacket and crawling along the floor. Every time the ship jerks he flattens himself down and tries to wait the movement out, with only partial success. By the time he makes it to the core of the ship his implants are screaming about things like blood loss and pain levels. Bucky rips the package open and with only slightly shaking hands opens the access panel for the hyperdrive. He stares at the mess inside for a moment, the urge to panic growing under his skin. He compares the part in his hands against what he can see inside and hazards a guess based on what looks the same.

Afterall, it’s hardly rocket science, except for in all the ways it basically  _ is.  _

Fortunately, the actual replacement seems to be fairly straightforward once he starts; a simple matter of unplugging some wires from the metal disk as well as the panel and then replacing the ports where they connect. He carefully reconnects everything where it was originally, riding out several more jerking heaves of the ship as he does so. As soon as the last wire goes in, an almost blinding light comes from the disk and Bucky slams the panel closed. The ship is shuddering almost constantly now, and Bucky races for the cockpit. Tony hasn’t said anything for a worrying amount of time, and he wonders if they’re about to be shot out of the sky.

The cockpit is empty when he gets there; no sign of Tony’s hologram. Bucky spares a brief glance for the stars outside the viewing screen and figures they’re somehow outside the planet’s atmosphere, before throwing himself into the captain’s chair. The connection happens almost instantly this time, and the screens immediately start scrolling through a damage report. 

_ Shields: 12% _

_ ARC Reactor Power: 52% _

_ Weapons System: Online _

_ Hyperdrive: Online _

“Tony, get us out of here!” Bucky reaches for the worryingly distant sensation of the AI, even as he smoothly turns the ship with a thought. With the ship's sensors hooked into his implant he can  _ feel  _ there are several HYDRA ships in pursuit, with their weapons running hot.

“Engaging Hyperdrive: Standby for spacial jump.” Tony’s voice sounds flat and robotic in a way Bucky hasn’t heard before, and it’s more disconcerting than he would have expected. Tony’s end of their connection feels muted and Bucky is just starting to reach out again when there’s a great swell of energy from the ship that floods through his implants. It feels a little like standing too close to an electrical current, and Bucky could swear his hair stands on end. The view outside the window blurs into a blue-white tunnel of light for several seconds and Bucky closes his eyes against it. 

“Spacial jump complete. Disengaging Hyperdrive.” Tony intones what seems like minutes later, but is likely only seconds. Bucky opens his eyes just as the ship blasts out of the light tunnel, to be greeted by completely different stars. Bucky breathes a slow sigh of relief, since it doesn’t appear HYDRA was able to follow them through the spacial jump.

And then all the lights go out.

  
  
  


#  Part Two

Bucky sits in the dark for a moment or two, his implants buzzing with the abruptly cut connection to the ship. Emergency lighting switches on eventually, lighting the ship in an eerie reddish glow. It’s quiet around him, with only the faint hum of the idling engines to keep him company. Bucky pokes gingerly at the interface where his cybernetic arm connects, hoping to spark something; he sincerely hopes he didn’t break something fixing the hyperdrive. His wounds are still bleeding sluggishly, and his implant petulantly reminds him he needs medical attention, but Bucky has no idea what kind of medical supplies the ship has and - if there is a medbay -  _ where  _ it is.

“Tony? You’re kind of scaring me here. Wake up, you bucket of bolts!” His voice echoes uncomfortably, and when he’s met only with further silence, Bucky curses sharply. He can’t afford to sit here waiting; there has to be a way to reboot the AI, and with him the rest of the ship. He ignores the concern that feels like a lead rock in his stomach and pushes himself laboriously to his feet. “Fine, fine, make me do all the work.” Bucky mutters, if only to fill the silence.

The cockpit doors don’t open as they usually do at his approach, forcing Bucky to shove them open manually. Doing this, he learns they’re  _ damn heavy  _ and even with the enhanced strength of his cybernetic arm it’s a pain in the ass. The emergency lights continue down the corridor, a steady red glow just bright enough for Bucky to see where he’s going. 

“Okay, so if I was a medbay, where would I be,” Bucky continues his external monologue as he limps along, and quietly wonders how he got so used to Tony’s chatter in such a short time. The part of his mind Tony had connected to feels strangely empty, and he finds himself probing at it like a missing tooth. He makes an educated guess based on years of spaceship living, and fortunately whoever designed Tony hadn’t been  _ that  _ determined to make the ship unique. 

He only shoves open three doors before he finds what looks like a medbay and thankfully none of them are as heavy as the cockpit. Unsurprisingly, Tony isn’t extremely well equipped for anyone living; actually, the medbay is appallingly empty.

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Bucky mumbles to himself as he opens yet another empty drawer. His scrounging yields some basic medical supplies; mostly bandages and antibiotic spray. “Tony, we need to have a talk, this is just sad.” He continues conversationally as he efficiently packs and bandages his leg. The arm is a little more difficult to manage, and the end result is serviceable rather than pretty. He’s just tying off the bandage when the lights all turn back on, and Bucky blinks owlishly in the suddenly much brighter room.

Tony’s hologram flickers into being on the far side of the room, and he looks...awful. The hologram is fainter and much more colourless than before, and yet that’s somehow less terrifying than how haggard and  _ tired  _ Tony looks. Bucky jumps up and crosses the room, arms extended as though to support Tony before he registers what he’s doing and checks the motion abruptly.

“Stars, Tony! What happened to you?”

Tony blinks slowly, and his brows dip into a frown. “I’m...not sure. I think, with whatever  _ that  _ was, on the outpost? I used too much data, overloaded my circuits, something.”

“You mean when you got rid of Zola?”

Tony tilts his head, and his expression is both puzzled and frustrated. “Is that what that was?” He wonders absently. “It...hurt. Can I hurt? I shouldn’t be able to hurt, right?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I’m the person to ask,” Bucky demures, and he finds himself wishing he could  _ touch _ Tony. Something about the way Tony’s holding himself, the uncertainty in his expression, it pulls at Bucky in a way he’s not prepared for. Instead he reaches for that tentative connection and clumsily wraps himself around it, tries to hold on in the only real way he can. Tony’s eyes widen, and then he smiles and his posture relaxes.

“That can’t happen again, Bucky,” Tony says gently with a frown and Bucky mourns the smile of a moment ago. “I don’t think I can push him out again, not at that distance.” 

Bucky's shudders, the thought of Zola clawing at his brain again enough to make him nauseous. 

“He couldn’t do that, before. I had to be in, uh, in  _ the chair  _ for him to...erase me,” The words feel like they burn his tongue as they leave. 

“So, he’s gotten stronger,” Tony grimaces, and Bucky’s stomach rolls again. “Well, what’s the plan, Captain?”

“Uh, same as it always was?” Bucky strides out of the med room, confident Tony can hear him and more than done with the lablike atmosphere. He heads for the cockpit instinctively and the smile comes automatically when Tony’s hologram flickers beside him. If he just ignored his implants, he could pretend they really are walking the corridors side by side.

“And what was  _ that? _ ” Tony prods impatiently, waving his arms for emphasis. Bucky jerks back instinctively as one of Tony’s hands passes ‘through’ him.

“Avoid HYDRA outposts, pick up jobs where I can, keep my head down.” 

“That plan has an astronomically small chance of success,” Tony says after a short, disbelieving silence. “According to my databanks, HYDRA influence has expanded in the last year by over 12%. At their continued rate of expansion, you’ll run out of places to hide in approximately -”

“I don’t need the figures, Tony!” Bucky snaps, whirling on the AI. “But what else do you expect me to do? You think Syberea was bad? That’s just a  _ taste  _ of what Zola can do.”

“Tell me again how this ‘plan’ of yours is supposed to work?” 

“It was working just  _ fine  _ until you sent me to Syberea!” 

Tony stops in the middle of the hallway, levelling Bucky with a look of supreme disappointment. “I cannot believe you said that with a straight face. I found you  _ spaced,  _ in case you forgot.” 

“No, I know that, I just-” Bucky cuts himself off with a sigh. “I had it under control.” He mutters under his breath, but he knows it doesn’t sound convincing. 

For a moment, Tony continues to stare, and then his face softens into a smile.

  
“Of course you did,” He says, gently mocking. “My data banks must need updating; I didn’t know humans could survive the vacuum of space, now.” 

“Oh, ha ha,” Bucky jibes good naturedly, and they continue walking. “Seriously, though, I think we’ll be fine. We can just stay out here.” He continues, with a vague wave of his hand meant to encompass their general location.

“An interesting idea, but with one guaranteed to be fatal flaw. I don’t need to eat, and you do.” As they’re talking, the cockpit doors slide open and they step in. Bucky heads for the chair instinctively as Tony’s hologram flickers to give the appearance of ‘leaning’ against the wall. “You  _ do  _ have someone to call for help, don’t you?”

Bucky flops into the captain’s chair with a sigh, hiding his face in his hands.

“I have someone, alright. I’ve been...avoidin’ them, for a while.” 

“Well, I think it would be prudent to get in contact. HYDRA doesn’t appear to be satisfied with the territory they currently own, and they have technology to gain far more. Running and hiding is an option with a time limit.”

Bucky glances up from his hands to find Tony leaning forward a little, his eyes bright and intent. He can feel the answering burn of Tony’s passion at the back of his mind and the sensation of it is as comforting as it is confusing. “Why do you care so much?” 

Tony blinks and straightens abruptly; Bucky thinks if he could, the AI might be blushing. “Well...Because. Because you’re my Captain, of course. It’s part of my programming to help you!” Tony pauses, and his eyes drop to his feet in a sweetly bashful gesture. “And I think you’re my friend? I can have friends, right?” 

Bucky feels like he’s been kicked in the chest; the combination of Tony’s expression and the softly spoken question enough to flatten his argument entirely. 

“Of course we’re friends,” He murmurs, and is only mildly surprised to realise how true it is. They’ve known each other maybe twenty four hours, and yet the feeling of Tony’s presence in his mind is at once soothing and familiar. He hesitates only a moment longer before resting his hand on the chair and drawing the ship systems up. The digital portion of his memory is fairly small - what with only a small amount of his brain being cybernetic - and so Bucky locates the file he needs easily enough. 

He feels Tony scoop the data up almost immediately, and a moment later one of the screens is showing an expanded map. ‘Searching…’ blinks over the screen in placid blue, overlaying the map.

“How do you do that, anyway?” Bucky wonders aloud, ‘poking’ gently at the connection.

“Well, I haven’t had a Captain before, so I don’t know if this is ‘normal’,” Tony says slowly, his hologram coming to lean over Bucky’s shoulder. “I’m connecting to the cybernetic portion of your brain, so we can share data. Through that, you share my connection to the ship.” 

“Pretty sure that’s way beyond any of the other ships I’ve seen, and definitely not normal,”

“Well, I don’t exactly have a user manual in my databanks,” Tony huffs, and Bucky can feel the AI’s annoyance and frustration, which only makes him grin.

“You hate not knowing.”

“Signal located, patching you through.” Tony intones, deliberately avoiding having to answer. The screen goes blank for a second, and then Bucky finds himself looking at a familiar blue cowl.

“Hey, Stevie, long time no see.” 

~x~

“Bucky! It’s so good to see you,” Steve’s face beams back at him - or, what he can see of it beneath the cowl. Blue eyes and a chiselled jaw, and the ridiculously stylised white ‘A’ on Steve’s forehead.

“Is the connection bad? You sound weird,” Bucky frowns at the screen, but the picture appears crystal clear, and the background audio doesn’t sound fuzzed.

“What? Oh, no, I’ve uh. Long day of uh, righteous speeches.” Steve coughs awkwardly, his hand rubbing across the back of his neck in a gesture Bucky remembers clearly from growing up.

“I can’t believe you’re still wearin’ that cheesy costume,” Bucky manages to get out around the sudden lump in his throat. Tony leans even closer and static electricity prickles at Bucky’s skin as the hologram phases slightly through him.

“Is that  _ Captain America _ ?” Tony whisper-shouts, his head turning just enough to give Bucky a wide eyed look of disbelief. “According to my databanks, he should be  _ very  _ dead!”

“Uh, Bucky? Who is that?” 

“He’s a friend. Not important right now. I need your help, Steve. HYDRA is on my ass, and Zola is...He’s stronger somehow. I can’t do this without ya, punk.” Bucky shrugs his shoulder, and though the gesture doesn’t physically do anything to Tony, the AI thankfully takes the hint and straightens away. 

“Right, of course we’ll help. My team and I are in transit at the moment,” Steve pauses and leans to the side a moment, clearly looking at another screen. “We could meet you at a nearby port, uhh, looks like Brooklyn is the nearest HYDRA free one.”

Bucky huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Of course it is. Well, looks like we’re goin’ home. Till the end of the line, right?” 

Steve blinks and Bucky’s pretty sure he’s frowning behind the cowl. “Yeah, definitely. See you soon, Bucky. Stay safe.” 

The video blinks off, and Bucky finds himself staring blankly at the gently swirling nebula outside the ship.

“Are you okay?” Tony’s hologram steps around the chair, the screens dropping away so Bucky’s left only with the AI’s concerned expression. Tony reaches up and mimes tapping at his temple. “You feel...unsettled.”

“That...Wasn’t Steve. I’m sure of it. I don’t know what we’re walking into; might be a trap.” Bucky breathes out a long sigh, leaning back in the chair. Tony weights back and forth on his feet for a moment, giving the appearance of chewing his lip.

“Do you still want to go? We can look elsewhere.” 

Bucky looks down at his hands, at the glowing lines tracing up his metal arm. He clutches at the warm confidence Tony’s sending his way; the calm belief from Tony that whatever choice Bucky makes, he’ll support it. 

“No,” Bucky eventually says, feeling his way through the words. “If someone’s pretendin’ to be Steve, he might be in trouble. We grew up together, best friends. I can’t leave him.” 

“Looks like we’re going to rescue Captain America!” Tony crowes, with a delighted little shiver. Bucky snorts a laugh as Tony whirls away, practically bouncing over to the window. “Plotting a course for Brooklyn!” He hollers over his shoulder, and Bucky can feel the ship’s engines firing up, even though Tony hasn’t turned around.

_ Fanboy.  _ Bucky thinks fondly, and breaks into laughter as Tony clearly picks up on the thought and promptly blinks out of view.

~x~

Brooklyn had once been part of a giant city in space and had been the busiest hub of activity in the galaxy. After weathering several attacks from HYDRA, the city had been reduced to a single region and consequently renamed. With only crumbling infrastructure and a history of HYDRA attacks to offer, the port had consequently lost a lot of its trade. The upside had been that it also lost its value to HYDRA and had been left unmolested since. Of course, the downside meant it tended to attract a lot of...unsavoury types, being something of a neutral zone.

Dropping out of hyperspace, Bucky is immediately flooded with nostalgia. Brooklyn is the same floating hunk of mismatched metal it’s always been, showing signs of haphazard repairs over the years that mostly just delay the inevitable. Bucky guides the ship, and he can feel Tony busily running different processes in the background.

“I am reading approximately 35 ships currently docked,” Tony murmurs and Bucky sees his hologram pacing about in his peripheral vision. “They’re tagged with merchant codes, however a majority of the ships are equipped with code scramblers.” 

“So, pirates and smugglers, most likely. Not exactly surprising. You can tell they have code scramblers?” 

“Their systems are poorly secured,” Tony flashes a grin over his shoulder and Bucky feels an echoing sense of amusement through their connection.

“Okay, smartass, can you tell if there’s any HYDRA ships?” 

“I can’t identify any HYDRA used codes on the ships, but the code scramblers could conceivably be HYDRA used. I can detect several varieties of cybernetic implants on the population, but accessing them all would be…” Tony trails off with a grimace, even as Bucky shakes his head. Looking at Tony now, the AI’s hologram is only just starting to look recovered from before.

  
“No, we’ll just have to risk it. Okay, coming in to land.” 

Bucky guides the ship into the dock Tony highlights on the screen and disconnects from the systems with some reluctance. The bright spark of connection with Tony dims, though it doesn’t break away entirely. 

_ I’m still here.  _ Tony’s smile is warm and Bucky finds himself returning it without thought. They walk together to the airlock, shoulder to shoulder. Through the connections in his cybernetics, Tony feels so solid Bucky almost imagines he can feel Tony’s warmth. 

_ Alright, wish me luck.  _ Bucky flashes one last smile Tony’s way before stepping down off the ship, and the AI flashes him an ironic salute in reply. 

Bucky heads straight for The Cage, figuring Steve - or someone pretending to be him - will wait somewhere familiar, where he can blend in. The bar is pretty much known for its liberal coating of blood and organs, regular fights and a strict no questions asked policy. Bucky deliberately leaves his cybernetic arm uncovered this time, and the vents flex with a hiss as he moves. The Cage is a squat little building tucked between two partially destroyed multistories, and even from across the street Bucky can hear the roar of noise from within. Tony is quiet and watchful in his mind and Bucky finds it enormously comforting; he could definitely get used to having someone watching his back.

_ Well, that seems safe.  _ Tony comments on the impressions Bucky sends back to him. Bucky snorts a laugh, pausing to the side as a man is forcefully ejected from the door to go skidding across the concrete. He catches the door before it can swing closed and slides inside, his cybernetics automatically adjusting to the dimness inside. The place is filled, and Bucky subtly scans the interior; he can feel Tony grabbing at the data as fast as his cybernetics register it.

_ Are you running facial scans?  _

_ Of course,  _ Tony sounds snippy, and Bucky bites back a smile.  _ I’m running it against known HYDRA personnel. I did a little data mining back on Syberea. Thought it might be useful. _

Bucky doesn’t bother with a verbal reply, as he elbows his way up to the bar, but he sends Tony a vaguely thankful feeling. The bar is manned by a tall, lanky man in a red and black mask of some description. He leans an elbow on the bar and even without being able to see his face, Bucky can tell he’s grinning.

“What’ll it be tall, dark and broody?”

“For the last fucking time, Wade, you don’t work here.” Another voice growls before Bucky can answer. A shorter, stockier figure steps up behind the first and Bucky is forced to step aside as the masked man is unceremoniously thrown over the bar. The man lands with a crash and a high pitched giggle on the dirty floor. Bucky turns back and the second man plants his fists on his hips.

“Been a long time, kid. You don’t look like you’re here for drinkin’,” He growls and Bucky flashes a grin.

“Logan, I’m lookin’ for Cap.”

Logan grunts and jerks a thumb over his shoulder. Bucky taps once on the bar and then moves around to the back. Logan didn’t indicate any sort of trouble, and he usually has a nose for that sort of thing. It’s a strange mix of signals that has Bucky on edge; whoever was pretending to be Steve is obviously good enough to fool even Logan’s senses. Bucky finds himself reaching unconsciously for his link to Tony, and while he can tell the AI is only partially paying attention, a warm feeling of reassurance passes through him anyway. By the time Bucky is approaching the door to the back room, he feels settled and centred.

Bucky approaches the door cautiously, and passes a cautious glance over it with his cybernetic eye. The tech isn’t so sophisticated he can see through walls, but he can usually get close to it with the thermo filter. The door and the walls on either side glow a cold blue in his vision, and his cybernetics don’t pick up anything beyond that. Damn Logan and his paranoia.

Resigned to stepping into a potential trap, Bucky steps lightly up to the door and pauses. He can’t hear anything beyond it, and figures the walls are probably sound proofed as well. He very carefully tests the latch on the door, trying not to alert whoever is in the room beyond that he’s arrived. It’s unlocked, and so Bucky pauses only long enough to make sure he has one hand near a weapon before throwing the door open and diving to the side. He’s not immediately met by laserfire, so he supposes that’s a good enough sign.

“Are you coming in, or you just gonna hang out in the hallway until we’re both old and bored?” A voice calls out, sounding bored and a little amused, and is familiar only in that Bucky recognises it from the call. Well, seems he’s found fake Steve easily enough. Bucky leans cautiously around the door frame, his eyes skating along the edges of the room. The imposter sat boldly in the middle, in a patch of light cast by a single bulb lamp which sputtered occasionally and left the rest of the room in shadow. Bucky eases slowly into the room, his head tilted a little; he could have sworn... Ah, there.

“That depends, your friend gonna keep hidin’ in the corner? I get a little  _ nervous  _ sometimes.” Bucky flashes the man a feral grin, and taps the fingers of his metal hand meaningfully against the butt of his pistol. 

“I did not think to fool  _ the Winter Soldier _ .” The shadow Bucky had spotted in the corner, barely visible except to his cybernetic eye, moves fluidly forward and into the light. A face, familiar and yet not, is revealed and Bucky stares in consternation at the red headed woman who is smiling almost gently at him. 

“Ah, you do not have all your memories yet,” The woman says, and she sounds unsurprised. “We will talk, another time.” She gestures at the blonde man, who leans forward with a grin.

“You said you needed help?” His eyes spark mischievously, but Bucky can see the worry lines carved around the man’s mouth and the tense way he holds himself. He brushes the question aside with an impatient hand gesture.

“Where’s Steve? And why are you wearin’ his clothes?”

The man flows to his feet, moving with a fluid grace Bucky immediately identifies as  _ dangerous. _

“Have you  _ seen  _ my ass in this suit?” He makes as though to turn and demonstrate and the woman sighs heavily.

_ “Clint _ ,” She warns, the tone long suffering, and Bucky figures this is probably normal behaviour for Clint. As is, apparently, getting scolded because he only shrugs gamely.

“Yeah, okay. Truth is, we don’t know. Captain Virtue went gallivanting off chasing a legend, and we’re just trying to hold this little band of rebels together in the meantime.”

Bucky breathes a curse under his breath. They could be lying, he supposes, but he’s kept tabs on Steve and he knows a little about the band of rebels he’s been leading around the place. Still, it pays to be safe, he supposes.

_ Tony?  _

_ On it.  _ The AI’s response comes instantly, and Bucky returns his attention to the two people in front of him.

“How long has he been gone?”

The pair exchange a glance, and Bucky assumes they’re debating how much to tell him. He supposes he can’t blame them, since he’s not exactly rushing to tell them what he needed Steve’s help with.

“Months,” Clint eventually says, and his shoulders slump a little. Looking at him, he looks tired and a little worn. “He was supposed to check in regularly, but we lost contact.” 

_ Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov,  _ Tony’s voice abruptly intrudes and Bucky carefully keeps his face blank. He would rather they didn’t know his attention is split.  _ AKA Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Known enemies to HYDRA and associates of one, Captain America, AKA Steve Rogers. They’re safe, Bucky, as much as I can tell. _

Bucky releases his breath on a sigh, and unconsciously lets his posture relax a little. It’s clear Natasha and Clint pick up on it, and while Natasha merely looks curious, Clint looks a little relieved.

“Oh good, the galaxy wide ghost story who scares  _ Nick Fury  _ no longer looks murderous,” He grins and eases back down into the chair he’d previously occupied. “I feel safer already.”

“Your identity checks out,” Bucky replies with a little shrug. Natasha’s eyebrows lift, but her expression otherwise remains politely interested. “So, where did Steve go, and why haven’t you gone after him?”

“That’s...complicated,” Clint hedges, with a little grimace Bucky instinctively dislikes. “But, we’re pretty sure he’s alive, and HYDRA can’t get to him where he is right now. So, small wins I guess.”

_ Bucky!  _ Tony suddenly  _ shouts,  _ and Bucky unconsciously grabs at his head. He’s never heard Tony use that particular tone before, and the force of his voice actually makes his  _ skull  _ ache.  _ You need to get out  _ now.  _ HYDRA is here. _

_ Are you safe?  _

_ They haven’t noticed me. I’ll do what I can to scramble communications, but Bucky - they were already there. It’s a trap! _

Bucky peels his eyes open - he hadn’t even realised he’d closed them - to find both Natasha and Clint eyeing him with concern and not a little suspicion.

“HYDRA,” He manages to grit out past the thumping headache Tony has unintentionally given him. “They’ve found us.”

“Hell,” Clint sighs, but he’s grinning a little. Bucky moves for the door without waiting to see if they’re following, and behind him there is the soft hum of something plasma powered. He glances over his shoulder to see Clint holding a bow, a dark purple that glows softly. “Lead on, tall, dark and angry!”

Bucky snorts softly and turns away; apparently everyone around here gets their nicknames from the same place. The hallway beyond the room is clear, but when they make it back to the bar it’s complete chaos. Logan is in the thick of it, blood already coating his arms, face and most of his chest. His claws gleam darkly with more of it, and even as Bucky wades into the battle, Logan buries all of them in the chest of another combatant. Bucky slams his elbow into one man’s face, hears the satisfying crunch of bone, and turns to bodily lift another and throw him. He sails clean across the room and skids to a stop at Natasha’s feet. With a tiny smirk, the woman ruthlessly stomps down on his throat. 

“Aw, Nat, wasn’t that a  _ little  _ harsh?” Clint calls and when Bucky looks for him, he finds the man standing proudly atop the bar, heedless of how much attention the position draws.

Natasha spins smoothly, and with a crackle of electricity from bracers at her wrist, another HYDRA soldier goes down. “Even Steve doesn’t avoid killing HYDRA.” She says primly, sounding as casual as if they were chatting over a meal. 

“That’s because HYDRA aren’t  _ people, _ ” Bucky snarls, and plows his metal fist into the face of another. “They stopped being people a long time ago.”

_ Bucky, you need to move. More are coming.  _ Tony informs him, and he sounds harried. Bucky curses softly under his breath and heads for the door. Part of him feels terrible for abandoning Logan, but if anyone can survive and repel a HYDRA attack, he’s pretty sure it’s Logan. Plus there’s the Wade guy, who laughs hysterically as he runs a plasma sword through two men at once.

“Kebab!” He crowes gleefully, and shoves the men off the blade with one foot.

“We have to get goin’!” Bucky yells across the bar, and is gratified to see both Natasha and Clint wave an acknowledgement. “There’s more comin’.”

“You know,” Clint says contemplatively, turning his head to meet Bucky’s eyes. “I’ve always said I was smokin’.” Clint selects an arrow from his quiver and, without turning his head, fires it neatly just inside the doorway. It explodes a moment later, filling the room with a thick, obscuring smoke. Bucky curses softly and holds his breath, throwing one arm across the lower half of his face and running forward. He shoulders a couple of indistinct figures aside, barely pausing to see if they are friend or foe. The door proves a flimsy barrier to Bucky’s strength and sense of urgency, and he staggers out into the clear night air. There’s more soldiers marching down the street towards him, and Bucky uses their moment of surprise to throw himself down behind a parked hoverbike. It’s pretty minimal in terms of cover, but beggars can’t be choosers. He pops over the top of the bike and fires a few blasts from his pistol, but he’s pretty well aware that he’s outmanned.

_ Tony, I could really use some help here! _

_ Here, this way!  _ Tony’s voice is followed almost immediately by a brief flicker in Bucky’s cybernetic eye; a softly glowing gold trail appears in his vision, leading down the street and turning down an alleyway.  _ Follow the map, I’ll steer you around as much of their force as I can.  _ Hurry,  _ Bucky.  _

Clint and Natasha burst out of the door while Bucky’s distracted. Clint doesn’t stop, firing an arrow as he’s running and then throwing himself forward in a graceful roll to avoid the return fire. His arrow hits one soldier in the eye, and even as the man opens his mouth to scream, the arrow promptly explodes.

“Yeah! That’s how it’s done!” Clint crowes as he rolls back to his feet, turning to grin proudly over his shoulder at a largely unimpressed Natasha.

“You rolled through an oil puddle, hotshot.” She responds drolly, stepping daintily over one of the bodies. 

“Aw, puddle, no.”

“Follow me, we can try to work around them.” Bucky shoves back to his feet and starts running, following Tony’s map.

“And how do you know where they’re going to be?” Natasha falls easily into step alongside him, and Bucky notes with no small amount of amazement that her hair is barely mussed.

“I have a friend monitoring their communications,” Bucky reluctantly answers; he doesn’t want to give away too much information about Tony, but Natasha and Clint are his only links to Steve, and he needs them to trust him. Natasha frowns a little, but she doesn’t object further. Still, with each empty street they pass through, Bucky can sense her tension easing a little more. They run into a few scattered groups of soldiers, but nothing like the larger force that had been heading for The Cage.

The landing bay, however, is complete chaos.

There are several ships both landed and in the air bearing HYDRA’s symbol. Soldiers are thick on the ground, and Bucky notes the smoking remains of other ships, still in their landing bays. Miraculously, Tony appears to be intact, though even as they approach several ships fire blasts that dissipate into Tony’s shields. A few more swoop in to attack, but their cannons fritz harmlessly. Bucky indicates the ship with a jerk of his chin,

“That’s my ship, c’mon!” He makes for Tony without waiting for an answer, taking aim on the first HYDRA soldier standing between him and his goal. He can feel the urgency from Tony; a silent ‘ _ hurry, hurry, hurry _ ’. 

“We’ll meet you in the air! We have the rest of our crew.” He hears the words behind him, but doesn’t turn to look. Bucky elbows another soldier out of his way and his cybernetic arm shatters their helmet. He can see Tony’s engines starting to power up, the bright blue glow he’s already come to know. The fight rages across the docks and even as Bucky is pushing through to Tony, he makes note of the other combatants. A tall, dark skinned man with cybernetic wings swoops by, the pistols in his hands firing constantly. There’s another who seems to be wielding some sort of warhammer, the edges of it lit blue-white and sparking off the echoing glow in his eyes. Even as Bucky watches, the man sweeps five soldiers with the hammer and sends them flying easily fifty feet. 

“Ho, friends!” He calls cheerfully, one hand lifted in a wave and the other swinging the hammer with easy grace. “A fine battle this is, though the doctor is perhaps not enjoying it.” He casts a fond look over his shoulder, and Bucky thinks he can just make out another person hidden behind his bulk.

“We have to go, Thor. Get back to the ship!” Natasha heads off in a different direction, and Bucky pauses long enough to note which ship she’s aiming for. It’s a bulky, slow looking beast, though maybe Bucky is a little biased these days. Tony is just starting to lift off, hovering smoothly a foot or so above the ground with his entrance ramp lowered. Bucky plows through whatever of HYDRA is stupid enough to get in his way and leaps easily onto the ramp. He goes down to one knee to make a smaller target of himself and takes aim at the first soldier he sees gunning for Clint. Bucky methodically picks them off, clearing the way for the group to get to their ship.

_ Uh, Bucky, HYDRA has a lock on their ship.  _

“Block the signal!” Bucky grits out, his eyes darting between the HYDRA ships swooping above and the one sitting in the open, undefended.

_ I’m trying, but there’s a lot of them! I can either protect them or protect myself, I can’t do both. _

“Slag it! Fire back!” 

Tony doesn’t reply verbally, but Bucky is forced to grip the edge of the landing ramp hard as the ship lurches to the side. The world spins sickeningly as Tony turns about and Bucky hears the familiar high pitched whine of his weapons. Bucky hangs on grimly as HYDRA returns fire, the ship shuddering with the force of it. Most of them turn aside from Nat and Clint’s ship, but one continues it’s strafing run, weaving boldly past Tony’s blasts. Bucky watches in what feels like slow motion as the ship opens fire; the first few are absorbed by the shields, but Bucky can see the moment the shields shatter.

The explosion lights up the dock. Tony angles away, placing the ramp in between Bucky and the heat of the explosion.

“Pick them up, Tony! We have to pick them up!” 

_ Hold onto your circuit boards!  _ Tony snaps a moment later, the ship beneath him shifting again and Bucky hauls himself to standing. He can see Steve’s team hauling themselves to their feet, battered and bloody but alive. Natasha spots them first, and Bucky doesn’t catch what she says but the group heads immediately for them. The big one - Thor - grabs a smaller, slighter man and throws him up with seemingly little effort. Bucky snatches him from the air with his cybernetic arm and pushes him up the ramp. Thor reaches for Natasha, but she’s already leaping, her body a graceful arc that lands her neatly on the edge of the ramp. She’s already turning, snatching Clint out of the air, completely confident he would be right behind her. Thor is the last to jump, after throwing the dark skinned man - whose wings appear broken - ahead of him. 

They scramble up the ramp as a group, with it already lifting them into the safety of Tony’s airlock. Bucky doesn’t waste any time, shoving past the group and racing for the cockpit; he’s only distantly aware of them trailing after him. The doors open for him, and it’s with relief Bucky sees Tony’s hologram waiting; he looks harried and a little dishevelled, like someone who’s been running their hands through their hair, but otherwise fine. Bucky drops heavily into the pilot’s chair, hearing a muttered ‘whoa’ behind him he assumes is Clint.

“Tony, engage the hyperdrive.” The connection happens almost instantly, and Bucky can feel immediately that the shields are holding well, but they’re taking a lot of fire. The hyperdrive fires up, and together they pilot the ship into the first bit of open space they can find.

“Hyperdrive engaged!” Tony calls cheerfully, speaking aloud likely for the benefit of their guests. Bucky grits his teeth through the resulting blast of energy, though it feels a little less overwhelming this time. The view outside blurs for a few seconds and when it stops, they’re drifting through empty space. Bucky sighs heavily and slumps in the chair,

“Okay, I for one think we’ve spent way too much time running for our lives.” He observes dryly. Tony is standing next to the captain’s chair and he makes a point of appearing to be leaning against it.

“Agreed,” His mouth twists in a sardonic smirk. “I’m pretty sure I have scorch marks.”

A boot sails across the cockpit, passing through Tony and causing his hologram to flicker and thumping to the floor on the other side. Bucky spins around to see Clint in the process of working his other boot off, standing awkwardly on one leg.

“What? He looks like a hologram, but he doesn’t sound like any I’ve seen before.” Clint shrugs, his grin unrepentant. 

“Why do we take you places?” Natasha sighs and Bucky snorts a laugh.

“You know, you’re lucky I don’t have a sense of smell,” Tony blinks into place above the boot, frowning down at it. “I can almost see the stench on these.” 

“I think you hurt his feelings,” Bucky pushes himself out of the chair on a groan. Honestly, at this point he’s completely exhausted. He scoops Clint’s boot up and lobs it back; the archer catches it with another grin and slips it back on. “Well, now that we’ve established he really is a hologram. Everyone, this is Tony; he’s the ship.” 

“Fascinating,” The short, dark haired man whispers, stepping forward as though he can’t help himself. “A fully functioning AI? I thought they were impossible. And such an articulate hologram! How are you projecting so smoothly?”

“Oh! Someone who speaks english!” Tony all but leaps across the cockpit, leaning closer to the other man. “I have projectors around the ship, so I can move around wherever I want. So you’re Captain America’s team?”

“I’m Natasha, this is Thor, Sam, Bruce and Clint.” Natasha smiles slightly, gesturing at each man respectively.

“Right, The Avengers,” Bucky sighs out a breath and wonders how his life keeps getting  _ more  _ complicated. “So how did Steve end up running off without his team?”

“Cap was chasing a legend; a Technopath. We hoped they might be able to help us fight Zola.” Natasha offers, with a tiny smile that suggests she knows how crazy it sounds.

“Technopaths are extinct. HYDRA wiped them out.” Bucky states flatly, scowling down at his cybernetic hand.  _ I wiped them out,  _ he doesn’t say. He wonders if the others hear it anyway. Tony nudges gently at the bond, a warm comfort that Bucky can’t help but cling to.

“Well, maybe that’s what everyone wants them to think. Word is Howard Stark found the last one, and hid them on STARK Moon. No one has been there since Stark Industries was overrun, so who knows what all's on that moon." Bruce shrugs and slides his glasses off his nose to clean them on his shirt, expression pensive.

"So Steve went gallivanting off through a dangerous debris field on a  _ rumour?  _ Of course he did."

"Well excuse the hell out of us! At least we were  _ doing something! _ " Clint snaps abruptly. "I don't know if you noticed there, princess, but HYDRA is winning! We need something, before HYDRA shoves their damn hand up our collective asses and has us bending over for the cause!"

“Well, I’m not really sure how a  _ fantasy  _ is going to help you!”

“As fascinating as this argument is,” Tony breaks in, folding his arms across his chest. “We’re sort of on a time limit, here.” 

“Right. So if you’ve known where he is the whole time, why haven’t you gone already?” Bucky runs a hand through his hair, leaning one hip against the edge of the captain’s chair. Tony flicks his fingers in a casual wave and one of the screens helpfully lights up with a projection of Stark Moon.

“Because of this,” Bruce traces one finger around the edge of the moon. “STARK Moon has some sort of technological debris field as a defense mechanism. We tried once and barely got out with the ship intact.” 

“So how the hell did Steve get in?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I’m not even sure exactly how it works, but I suppose it explains why HYDRA hasn’t gone in. We tried to get some readings off of it, but the data was all corrupted. And, it was on the Nomad.” 

Tony leans over Bucky’s shoulder to look at the screen, his expression scrunched into an adorable little frown. They’re close enough Bucky should be able to feel Tony’s breath, and he finds himself oddly disappointed to be reminded yet again that Tony isn’t physically  _ there. _

“I only got a brief look at your Nomad, but I think my scanning equipment should be much more advanced.” Tony offers after a moment’s silence, without his usual brand of smug. The Stark moon rotates sedately on the screen and Bucky chews his lip thoughtfully.

“Well, it ain’t like we’ve got any other options,” He muses, amused in spite of himself. “Shall we go take a look at this field?” He can feel Tony’s lively curiosity through the bond, and Bucky can admit at least to himself that he’d feel better with Steve at his back. Tony’s great backup, but he can’t exactly punch Bucky’s enemies in the face alongside him.

Tony spins away without another word, likely to start plotting their course, and leaving Bucky with the displaced Avengers.

“Well, I haven’t finished exploring the rest of the ship. So, shall we take a look at the Crew quarters?”

~x~

Bucky wakes suddenly, with a scream trapped behind his teeth. Sweat coats his body, and his heart thunders so loudly it’s all he can hear. For that first moment of disorientation the sheets feel like they’re strangling him, and Bucky tears his way free of the bed. Nightmarish images continue to flash behind his eyes, and he can almost taste the blood. He stares at the disturbed blankets the same way someone might look at a loaded gun; he can’t face the idea of climbing back into that bed, returning to sleep where the nightmares wait. At the same time, Bucky thinks sitting here staring at the walls will drive him completely mad. The rest of the Avengers are probably sleeping, since it’s only part way through the sleep cycle. It’s too easy to reach for that lingering presence at the back of his mind and Bucky has barely brushed it when he feels Tony’s attention turn his way. 

_ Bucky? What’s wrong? You feel...Edgy. _

Bucky huffs a laugh, pathetically grateful for Tony’s concern, for the AI’s immediate support.

“Could ya...Could ya sit with me for a while? I don’t think I can go back to sleep.” Part of him regrets the asking, the part that insists he can get by on his own, that he shouldn’t rely on anyone else because it’s  _ dangerous.  _ Mostly, he’s sick of being alone, and he...likes the way he feels with Tony around.

_ I can’t project into the crew quarters, Bucky, I’m sorry.  _ Tony says regretfully, and Bucky can’t even be surprised at himself for the swell of disappointment.  _ But why don’t you come to the cockpit? We’re going past an asteroid field, which should be interesting. _

Bucky smiles slightly, and after a moment’s hesitation, he grabs the blanket from his bed to ward off the chill in the ship’s corridors. He wraps it around his shoulders as he leaves his cabin, closing the manual door behind him and stepping into the dimly lit corridor. Tony is waiting for him with a warm, gently concerned smile. Bucky is struck with the absurd urge to reach for his hand, even knowing how futile the gesture is. He settles for stepping close and pretending he can feel the buzz of Tony’s hologram on his skin. They walk together in comfortable silence, until the already welcome sight of the cockpit greets them. Bucky immediately moves for the captain’s chair, and there’s something terribly ironic at the fact that - with his history - he finds the sight of another chair so  _ comforting.  _ He sinks into it and rests his hand on the arm, his anxiety calmed immediately by the connection flaring warmly to life.

“So, how about that asteroid field?” Tony teases gently as his hologram steps over, and he kneels down next to the chair. Bucky chokes out a laugh and shakes his head a little.

“You know I didn’t come here to look out the window, Tony.”

Tony dips his head, and Bucky gets the sense that if the AI could blush, he would be. As it is, Bucky can feel the embarrassed pleasure that his words provoke, and feels an answering warmth spark in his chest. Tony reaches up and lays his hand gently over where Bucky's cybernetic one rests, not truly touching but miming the act. Bucky lets himself pretend that he can feel Tony's touch, just for a moment, but the way the hologram fuzzes at the edges shatters his illusion.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tony asks, more gently, and his gaze is full of nothing but warm concern.

"Nah," Bucky exhales slowly, and leans back in the chair to stare up at the ceiling. "You bein' here helps."

Tony shifts a little, and bites at his lower lip in an unconscious little gesture Bucky finds utterly striking in its humanity.

"I'm sorry I'm not... _ here,  _ here." He breathes the words like a secret, his eyes dropping to where his hand fuzzes through Bucky's arm with a faint buzzing sensation. "I'm sorry I'm not  _ real.  _ That you can't feel me." He adds, and the bitterness catches Bucky by surprise.

"Hey, Tony, no. You're as real as anybody else, and don't ever think otherwise." Bucky sits forward, and reaches with his free hand to hover next to Tony's cheek; maybe a big part of him aches that there's no human warmth there, and he can't make physical contact. But a larger part of him is just happy for the connection humming brightly between them. "I can feel you just fine, Tony."

Tony's eyes are bright, his face tipped up to Bucky's and so close they could almost be kissing, under different circumstances. Their connection is a live wire between them, sparking with a flow of emotions too tangled to decipher. Bucky has never felt so simultaneously connected and distant from someone; it's as though Tony is  _ right there  _ and yet just out of reach. Utterly maddening, and yet Bucky couldn't begin to imagine giving it up. Not for anything in the world. 

"I feel real when I'm with you, Bucky." Tony says after the silence has stretched for seemingly ever, and he presses one hand against his own chest, a tiny, wondering little smile on his face. "I don't really know what it means, but I don't want it to go away."

Bucky smiles helplessly back at him and as if by unspoken agreement they turn to stare out the view port. They spend the rest of the sleep cycle in comfortable silence, with space spread out before them and the connection humming between them.

#  Part Three

“We’re approaching STARK Moon.” Tony abruptly blinks into existence, startling the gathered Avengers in the mess hall. Clint reflexively throws his coffee mug, which sails with unerring accuracy directly through Tony’s face to shatter on the floor. Tony favours the archer with a withering glare. “If you keep throwing things at me, I’m going to get  _ upset. _ ”

“Aw, coffee.” Clint mumbles mournfully, apparently oblivious to Tony’s annoyance. He brightens considerably when Natasha hands over her own coffee with only a token eye roll. 

“Thanks, Tony.” Bucky pushes away from the counter he’d been leaning on, his replicator produced coffee clutched in his flesh hand so he can soak up the warmth. The coffee itself tastes like shit, but then coffee from a replicator always does. With the Avengers trailing him like lost children, Bucky makes his way into the cockpit, where Tony stands waiting. The Avengers fan out through the cockpit, though they’re all seemingly inevitably drawn to the viewport. 

Outside, various pieces of metal drift slowly by the viewport in a single uniform line. There’s so much of it that Bucky can’t see through to the moon on the other side and it stretches out as far as his eye can see.

“This covers the whole moon?” Bucky breathes, awed and horrified. How the slag did Steve survive this mess?

“Completely.” Bruce says grimly. “We watched it for several cycles, and it never shifts enough to form a gap. Each piece overlays another, and then another.”

“Like armour,” Tony murmures, and Bruce blinks at him for a moment before smiling.

“Yes, exactly like armour.” 

“It’s some sort of miracle Steve didn’t obliterate himself.” Sam comments with a wry smile. Natasha snorts derisively and mutters something about ‘dumb luck’.

The connection is dim at the moment, since Bucky isn’t sitting in the chair, but even still he can sense Tony’s unease. He casts a glance at the AI and finds him staring intently at the field, his eyes almost glowing. Confused and a little concerned, Bucky nudges at the bond and is gratified by the way Tony’s attention immediately snaps to him.

“You okay?” Bucky murmurs, pitching his voice low to discourage eavesdropping. Tony tilts his head to the side, and Bucky can sense his confusion.

“There’s a pattern, I think?” Tony’s eyes flash brighter for a moment, and around them the engines start humming as the ship suddenly lurches forwards.

“Uh, hey Bucky what’s your crazy AI doin’?” Sam calls out and grabs at the wall, for lack of anything better to hold onto. Natasha rocks easily with the motion, her feet braced apart and her expression calm. Clint sits down rather than trying to grab anything and Thor braces Bruce’s weight easily enough.

“You know, I thought my death would be something epic.” Clint says contemplatively as the ship glides closer to the debris.

“No one is dying!” Bucky snaps as he lunges for the captain’s chair. He trusts Tony, and he doesn’t think the AI would ever do anything to hurt him, but he’s also behaving strangely. The screens obligingly flare up around him, the map of the debris field front and centre. Even as he’s looking, Tony plots data points on the map, showing a convoluted route through the field.

“I don’t believe it,” Bruce leans over Bucky’s shoulder, sounding a little awed as his eyes fly across the screen. “He found a path.” 

The ship continues slowly forward and they watch in silence as the metal pieces drift slowly by, sometimes so close they ping off the shields. Bucky finds himself gaping at the sight of cleverly hidden defense systems he’s pretty sure would tear through most ships like a knife through butter that remain dark and inactive as they pass. The sight of them makes Bucky’s skin itch; are they being led into a trap, or has Steve somehow managed to disable the defenses?

“Either this is a trap, or we are very fortunate.” Thor rumbles, unconsciously echoing Bucky’s thoughts.

But nothing happens; no enemy slips out of the darkness to attack, and the weapons remain inactive as they pass. Tony doesn’t speak and Bucky can feel the intense way he’s concentrating. Once or twice Bucky could swear they’re about to run into a wall of metal, and then just before they do it shifts to the side and leaves a tiny gap.

“I hate everything about this.” Sam mutters at one point, and Bucky can see the sweat lining his brow. 

“Tasha, if I die please delete my internet history.” Clint stage whispers, and Sam makes a noise of quiet disgust.

“No.” 

Natasha’s blunt refusal startles a laugh out of Bucky, and it breaks the tension in the room. Bucky shifts a little in the chair, half his attention on the screen in front of him and half on the view outside. It’s harrowing to watch, but Tony’s quiet confidence is soothing.

It feels like hours, though it’s probably only minutes before, and then quite suddenly they’re on the other side. STARK moon is a pale, dusky blue in colour as far as the eye can see and as they drop down closer, Bucky can see that the surface is almost completely flat. It’s clearly windy as swirls of blue dust fill the air, and visibility drops sharply. Bucky’s hands clench around the arm rests of the chair, but Tony stays steady, and Bucky gets the feeling he’s following some sort of path. The ship drops further, and all at once the dust peels away and Bucky can see they’re heading straight at the ground.

“Oh good, the AI is homicidal.” Clint comments drolly, and Bucky snorts a laugh. Even as he’s opening his mouth to reply, the ground below them appears to ripple and then abruptly disappears, leaving a darkened opening which Tony guides the ship through easily. They find themselves in a huge cavern, the walls lined in glittering blue grey stones that reflect the light from the front of the ship and sets the whole place sparkling. To their left an opening in the cavern wall allows a waterfall entrance and even from inside they can hear the thunder of rushing water.

It’s beautiful.

Tony guides the ship lower in the cavern, to where the rock floor is oddly smooth - perfect for landing. Bucky can see a small opening in the wall at ground level, a tunnel leading away from the main cavern. 

_ How do you know where you’re going?  _

Bucky asks the question silently, mostly to avoid freaking the other Avengers out. There’s a brief delay before Tony replies, and he sounds thoughtful when he does.

“It’s like I know this, like it’s familiar. I can’t explain it.”

Natasha quirks a brow and steps up to lean against the edge of Bucky’s chair. 

“Perhaps you were designed by Stark?”

“That makes more sense than it doesn’t.” Bucky mutters as the ship settles with the slightest bump. The Avengers file out of the room, likely to collect their gear, and Natasha pats him lightly on the shoulder before she follows. Bucky lingers a little longer, watching worriedly as Tony’s hologram turns away from the viewing window and comes to stand in front of him.

“Be careful, Bucky. It... _ feels  _ safe here, but be careful anyway.” 

“A gut feeling?” Bucky responds with a wry little smile. Tony merely shrugs, his hologram trailing after as Bucky heads for the airlock. The others are already waiting, and Tony hovers in the doorway as they initiate the opening sequence. The ramp lowers, and Bucky blinks at the three people standing patiently waiting. There is a tall, dark skinned man standing next to a slighter woman, with red hair pulled back severely from a beautiful face currently streaked with tears.

“Steve!” Bucky ignores the other two and runs down the ramp, shoving past the rest of the Avengers and racing for his best friend. Steve is halfway up the ramp when they collide, rocking back on his heels as he takes Bucky’s weight at full force. Bucky tucks his face in against Steve’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his brother, his fists curled tightly in Steve’s shirt.

“You punk, where the hell you been?” He whispers into the space between them, for the moment completely ignoring whatever else is happening. After the stress of the last few days, hell the last few years, having Steve nearby is a sorely needed relief.

“Right here, jerk. Where have  _ you  _ been?” Steve responds good naturedly, his grip just as tight around Bucky.

“Uh, as touching as all this is, who are you?” Clint is standing at the top of the ramp, arms folded across his chest and suspicious eyes on the two unknown people. Belatedly, Bucky draws back a little and turns a curious gaze on the two of them. They don’t respond to the question, their eyes staring past the group and...At Tony, who seems just as arrested by the sight of them.

“This is James Rhodes and his wife, Pepper.” Steve introduces them after the silence grows long enough to be awkward, though he seems just as disconcerted by their peculiar pause. “They run what’s left of the moon, keep the defense systems active so HYDRA can’t get the last of Stark’s inventions.”

“I guess it was too much to hope that Stark himself would still be around.” Natasha murmurs.

“No, Howard was lost some time ago.” The woman, Pepper, finally speaks up. She straightens her shoulders and briskly wipes her tears away. “He left to draw attention away from the Moon.” 

“Well, shit. Howard was the last Technopath around, right? We’re slagged.” Sam says on a groan.

“Not necessarily,” Natasha argues immediately. “You said his inventions are still around? Maybe something can help.”

“I’m sure if they could, they would have done so already.” Bruce butts in with a tiny frown.

“What are you talking about? Howard wasn’t a Technopath. That was just a rumour he perpetuated.” Pepper cuts over them all. “As for his inventions, we can’t use them without someone very important.” She adds, and her eyes are back on Tony, who blinks incredulously.

“Me? But I don’t know who this Howard is!” 

Pepper’s smile wobbles a little, and she looks like she might cry again. “There’s a lot we need to explain, Tony. Perhaps...In private?” 

Bucky opens his mouth to protest immediately, the idea of two strangers alone with Tony tying his stomach in knots.

_ It’ll be okay. I...think I know them, somehow.  _ Tony’s voice halts the words before they can make their way up his throat, and Bucky nods slightly. He can see the other Avengers aren’t too keen on the idea, either, but Natasha clearly takes her cue from Bucky and herds them down the ramp.

“Our home is just a little further down this tunnel,” Rhodes says, his words a little choked. “You’re welcome to anything you like; we don’t have much, but we’re happy to share.”

The pair of them all but race up the ramp, as though afraid the chance will be snatched away. Tony gives Bucky one last look before the ramp lifts closed, leaving the rest of them outside.

“So, does this seem really slaggin’ strange to anyone else?” Clint glares at the ramp for a moment, and then with a shake of his head he starts for the tunnel. “Do you think they have coffee?” 

“I assume you’re staying.” Natasha states, her eyes swinging between the ship and the tunnel where the rest of the Avengers are slowly disappearing from view.

“Yeah, just in case Tony needs me. Go on. Tony said it’s safe here.”

“Oh, well if  _ Tony  _ says so.” Natasha says drolly, but she turns away without further comment.

Left alone with just Steve, Bucky turns slowly back around to face his friend.

“Damn, it’s good to see you!” Steve says immediately and throws his arms around Bucky's shoulders. Bucky lets himself sink into the familiar embrace, soothing some of the anxiety rolling around in his chest. Part of him will always remember Steve as the guy who was small enough to fit under Bucky’s chin, but this is a different kind of familiar, and just as precious.

“I’m sorry I stayed away so long.” Bucky presses the words into Steve’s shoulder, inhaling deeply of his brother’s familiar scent.

“Doesn’t matter,” Steve says immediately, fiercely. “You’re here now.” 

They reluctantly step back from each other, and Bucky slugs Steve in the shoulder. “Yeah, chasin’ after you, punk! The hell were you thinkin’, flyin’ into that minefield?”

  
Steve huffs a laugh, rubbing lightly at the shoulder Bucky had punched, though they both knew the blow would have barely hurt. “Didn’t really have another option, Buck.” He mumbles, a little ruefully. “Things have been getting pretty grim out here. Figured I’d rather die trying something that might save us.” 

“I hate you sometimes, you noble bastard.” Bucky slings an arm around Steve’s shoulders and uses it to turn them both to face the ship. Steve whistles lowly, his eyes stroking over the clean lines of the ship’s design, and Bucky is struck with the absurd urge to hit him again, as though Steve were looking up his lady’s skirt or somethin’.

“Damn, Buck, that’s a hell of an upgrade from the last hunk of junk you were runnin’.” 

“You think the outside is impressive, wait until you meet Tony properly.” Bucky grins and tugs Steve forward towards the landing ramp. It doesn’t sit right with him, that strangers have been alone with Tony for so long, and the bond is quiet and distant in Bucky’s mind.

“Wait, wait, hold on a minute!” Steve yanks at Bucky’s shoulder and he stumbles to a stop, half turning to face his friend. “I know that look on your face. Who exactly  _ is,  _ Tony?” 

Bucky opens his mouth to deny, deflect,  _ something  _ other than tell the truth he’s been keeping held close to his chest. He never gets that far, though, as a spike of feeling from Tony’s end of the bond arrests his attention. It’s panic, confusion, sorrow and Bucky doesn’t stop to think. He runs up the ramp, bursting onto the ship expecting some sort of attack, some danger he needs to defend Tony from. What he finds is Rhodes and Pepper, standing awkwardly by as Tony’s hologram paces the cockpit. Tony’s so intent on what he’s doing that he doesn’t even seem to notice that he’s walking right  _ through  _ the captain’s chair.

“The hell is goin’ on in here? Tony?” Left without a threat to directly deal with, Bucky turns his attention to Tony. He’s never seen the AI look so distressed, and he thinks that if Tony were anything other than a hologram he’d be crying. 

“Bucky, I. I don’t even know how to explain.” Tony spins around to face Bucky, and he can see the distress all over the hologram’s face.

“Can you give us a minute?” Bucky asks Pepper and Rhodes. He turns a little and Steve is lingering just behind him, likely after chasing Bucky into the ship.

  
“Of course, we’ll wait outside.” Pepper answers immediately, and twines her hand with Rhodes’ to tug him from the cockpit. 

As soon as the door slides closed behind them, Tony strides forward until he’s standing close enough that Bucky would feel his breath if he were physically there. He looks conflicted, even a little heartbroken. Bucky lifts a hand, automatically trying to reach out, to provide comfort. He abandons the gesture a moment later, frustrated at the barriers between them.

“What’s got you lookin’ so down, doll?” He whispers, seized with the desire to  _ fix  _ whatever is causing Tony pain.

“They said they’re my friends. That I used to know them, used to...be like them.” The words hitch, as though Tony is having difficulty saying them.

  
“I don’t understand…” Bucky frowns gently, confused but willing to wait as Tony tries to explain.

“My name is Tony Stark. Bucky, they...They said I’m human.”

Bucky finds himself staring, a cold feeling of shock spreading through his chest. He sinks into the captain’s chair without thought, staring up at the nervous expression Tony wore. 

“I don’t. What do you mean, you’re human?” Bucky starts to ask, and then stutters into silence. It makes a terrible sort of sense, when he considers the things Tony is capable of, the connection humming in the back of his mind,  _ through  _ his implants. The strange lifelike quality of Tony’s hologram, the way he shows emotions, the humanity in his expression. Bucky rubs a hand across his face, sweeping it up and through the strands of his hair.

Evidently sensing the direction of Bucky’s thoughts, Tony nods and turns away a little.

“There’s a part of the ship I never went to. It made me uneasy, but I didn’t know why.” Tony murmurs, his gaze on the door out of the cockpit. “I think there’s answers there, but I don’t want to face them on my own.”

Bucky blows out a sigh and pushes to his feet, tamping down on his emotions for the moment. He didn’t know how he felt, with everything a confused tangle inside him, and he wasn’t ready to address the feelings.

“I’ll go with you. Let’s go find out the truth, then.” 

Tony smiles brightly, and the connection floods with warm gratitude. He leads the way through the cockpit doors and along the corridors, heading in a direction Bucky has never taken in his short time on the ship. They walk in silence, as Bucky grapples with his feelings; the idea that Tony might be human? It’s...shocking, unbelievable, but also...wonderful. How many times has Bucky wished he could reach out for Tony? How many times has he been surprised by the depth of Tony’s emotion, and disappointed by the lack of human warmth the rest of him is so convinced should be there? 

But it raises so many questions, as well; if Tony is human, how did he end up masquerading as a ship AI? And how could he not remember?

They head into the bowels of the ship, to the first door Bucky has seen with a keypad. Tony stops directly in front of the door, and watching him Bucky can see his chest moving rapidly as if he’s hyperventilating.

“I don’t want to open the door,” Tony admits quietly, and Bucky can feel his apprehension through the connection.

“Do you want me to do it?”

Tony flickers to the side, leaving the keypad available for Bucky to reach. Bucky doesn’t hesitate and reaches out to presson the button.

The door slides open with the groan of long unused mechanisms, and cold air blows into Bucky’s face with a hiss. The chill feels like it immediately sinks beneath his skin and curls around his core. Bucky waves a hand in his face, waiting for the cold mist to evaporate.

And there he is.

It’s undeniably Tony, resting quietly in a huge glass tube that’s been carefully mounted in the heart of the ship, plugged seemingly directly into the ship’s power supply. His eyes are closed, and he could almost be sleeping were it not for the frost dusted delicately across his cheekbones and long eyelashes. He’s naked, or at least appears to be, though his body is largely obscured by the curling mist drifting around the inside of the tube.

More importantly, he’s  _ breathing.  _

“Tony, that’s…” Bucky trails off into silence, stepping slowly forward, irresistibly drawn across the floor. He rests a hand on the glass, half afraid that touching it will cause it to disappear, but it’s real;  _ Tony’s  _ real. There’s cold glass beneath his palm, and inches away he can see the slow rise and fall of Tony’s chest as he breathes.

“That’s me.” Tony says, blankly, jarring Bucky out of his thoughts. He turns back and Tony’s hologram is a few steps behind him, flickering wildly.

“Tony, how is this possible?”

Tony doesn’t answer at first, circling slowly around the tube like a wary animal. 

“Pepper and Rhodey said that Howard was trying to hide me from HYDRA, but this seems a pretty extreme solution.” Tony stops next to Bucky, and together they stare up at his sleeping form.

“You ain’t wrong.” Bucky says slowly, his mind spinning with questions. “So you’re what, plugged into the ship?”

Tony shrugs. “My mind, at least. I can feel my...body, I guess. I could maybe reach it?” He doesn’t sound enthused about it, and Bucky turns away from the cryotube to face him.

“You don’t sound like that’s somethin’ you wanna do.”

“I don’t really have a choice,” Tony sighs, rocking back and forth on his heels, his arms wrapped around himself like he needs the comfort. “I must be that Technopath your friends are looking for, with the things I can do. I’m not much good as a piece of hardware, but maybe…” Tony trails off and gestures helplessly at the cryotube.

“That’s bullshit, Tony, you always have a choice. The galaxy’s been shit for years, and you’re just one person. This doesn’t all depend on you.” 

“And what about you?” Tony fires back immediately, his expression turned mutinous. “What do you want?”

“Tony, it doesn’t matter what I want.” Bucky frowns, completely lost now.

“You’re telling me you wouldn’t prefer me like that?” 

“Tony…” Bucky pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully. This feels like a big deal, a conversation balanced on the edge of a blade, and if Bucky missteps he’ll cut them both to ribbons. “I care about you, and it don’t matter if you’re a hologram or as human as I am, that won’t change. You decide what you wanna do,  _ for you. _ ” 

“I’m scared. I don’t  _ remember  _ being him,” Tony whispers, gesturing at his own sleeping face. “I don’t remember having a heartbeat or, or breathing, or  _ anything!  _ How does an entire life just disappear?”

Bucky snorts a little, bitterly thinking of his own swiss cheese memory, the feeling of trying to piece together who he is from incomplete parts.

  
“So what’s stopping you from trying, then?” Bucky asks gently. “You may not be whoever you were before you went into that ice, but people aren’t meant to stay the same.”

“I want that, I want to try. I can feel this connection to Pepper, and to Rhodey. I know they’re important, I know this place is important. I just don’t know how or where it fits. I want to know who I am, and I want to keep you safe. What if waking up gets me back those memories?” Tony’s hologram flickers, and Bucky’s surprised to see a flash of pink spread across his cheekbones. He honestly hadn’t thought a hologram could  _ blush _ , but then, Tony wasn’t a hologram, was he?

“I can understand, wanting to rediscover yourself. If it’s what you want, Tony, I’ll support you. Memories are precious things, and I’ve definitely lost a few along the way.” 

“I don’t know if I could carry on like this, being able to feel those holes in my memory now.” Tony admits quietly, with a wry little smile. “To know what I’m missing, and just ignore it?”

“It’s easy to run, harder to face things.” Bucky huffs a laugh, thinking of the years he’d spent running, from Steve and himself. He turns and Tony is looking at him intently, one hand raised as though he were reaching for Bucky. Bucky reaches back thoughtlessly, and their hands hover just apart. The static raises the hair along the back of Bucky’s hand, but he doesn’t pull away. 

“I don’t think I want to keep running.” Tony breathes the words between them, dropping his hand so the hologram flickers through Bucky’s skin. “I want to know what being human feels like again.” 

Bucky smiles, warmth spreading from that imagined point of contact. It’s almost beyond belief, the idea that all the times he’s imagined reaching for Tony knowing he could never make contact, that it might all be in the past. The idea that he might reach out and feel the warmth of Tony’s skin against his own. His heart thumps hard, racing in his chest so fast it feels like it might break out entirely. 

“Okay,” Bucky manages around the lump that’s abruptly appeared in his throat. “Then how do we wake you up?”

~x~

“So, how exactly is this going to work?” Bucky asks quietly, as Bruce flicks through screens faster than Bucky can keep up. Tony’s hologram is standing next to him, and though he’s quiet now, a moment ago the science talk had been flowing fast and free between them. 

“Well, in theory, being a Technopath means Tony’s brain is something of a computer already,” Bruce turns from the screens to offer Bucky a very small smile, a little awkward but sincere. “So returning to his body  _ should  _ be a matter of essentially downloading himself back in, in layman’s terms, anyway.” 

“Is that dangerous? Assumin’ that’s how Tony got into the ship, he lost his memories last time.”

“Well, it’s not without risks, certainly. But Tony’s abilities are likely much stronger now than they were the last time, so I believe the process should be smoother.” 

Leaning against the wall nearby, Clint slowly shakes his head back and forth.

“This is strange, even for me. Your boyfriend is a computer.”

Bucky flushes, and without turning to look he flips the archer off.

  
“He’s not my boyfriend, asshole. He’s my  _ friend. _ ” 

The rest of the Avengers, Rhodes and Pepper included, are arrayed around the room. With all of them packed in here, the room feels awfully small, but no one had wanted to miss this. Tony has been alternately excited and anxious since Bucky had told the others his decision, and Bucky can’t help but worry as he watches the hologram start pacing again. 

“I still can’t get over Howard thinking this was a good idea.” Steve mutters, so quietly only Bucky and Natasha hear, by virtue of being the closest.

“He was desperate.” Natasha murmurs, eyes sad and understanding. “He did the only thing he thought would work.”

“It worked, if you think about it,” Bucky agrees. “Tony kept a low profile, he was wanderin’ around by himself for a long time before he found me.” 

Bucky shifts a little, uncomfortable and anxious himself. In preparation for returning to his body, Tony had withdrawn the connection from Bucky’s implants, and he feels strangely hollow without it. Privately, he wonders if it’s something Tony will be able to do once he’s returned to his body, and more importantly if it’s something he’ll still  _ want  _ to do. Somehow it seems a little different, the idea of Tony, human Tony, connecting to Bucky’s mind; hearing his  _ thoughts.  _

“Okay, Tony, are you ready? The defrosting process is almost finished.” Bruce suddenly speaks up, turning fully away from the screens. Tony inhales deeply, and Bucky smiles a little at the unconscious, human action. He remembers Tony saying he didn’t remember how to breathe, and he thinks they might be okay.

Tony’s hologram spins to face him, and there’s a tremulous smile on his face.

“Just in case this doesn’t go well,” He says quietly between them. “Thank you for...Everything.” 

Bucky laughs a little, though his eyes feel a little wet.

“What’re you thankin’ me for? You saved my life several times over.” He reaches up to mime cupping Tony’s cheek, the hologram leaning just a little into the ghost of contact. “But nothin’s gonna go wrong. I’ll be seein’ ya real soon, doll.” 

Tony laughs a little and casts a quick smile around the room. His hologram blinks out, and the lights dim in the ship. The feeling of anticipation builds around them as Bruce stares intently at the screens, his fingers moving rapidly through different menus and nothing seems to change. The tank suddenly beeps, the sound loud in the otherwise silent room, and then with a great hiss of air the front slowly begins to lower away. Mist billows into the chamber, damp and cool across Bucky’s cheeks.

The lights flick out entirely for a split second, and Bucky hears a quiet gasp of sound. He’s moving before the lights have come back on, and he’s standing in front of the tube when Tony’s body slumps limply forward. Bucky snatches him from the air and lowers him gently to the floor. Pepper appears as if by magic with a blanket in both hands, which Bucky takes and swiftly swaddles Tony into. Tony’s head lolls, and his eyes remain closed, so Bucky carefully props him against the side of the tank and then shuffles back a little to give him space. They wait with bated breath for what feels to Bucky an eternity, with the only sign of life from Tony being his steady breathing. His skin is damp and pinched with cold, but Bucky’s afraid of overwhelming him with too much touching, and resists the urge to try and warm him up. 

Abruptly, Tony’s eyes snap open on a gasp, his spine arching off the tank. His eyes fly wildly around the room, shining blue in the dimness.

“Hey, hey, Tony, you’re okay, it’s just us. Look at me, doll, I’m here.” 

Tony’s eyes snap to Bucky the moment he speaks, and the sight of him seems to calm Tony down. The blue light in his eyes fades into the warmest brown Bucky has ever seen, and Tony smiles tremulously.

“I remember you.” He whispers, and Bucky can’t help the sigh of relief.

“That’s real good, Tony. You wanna try standin’? That cold floor can’t be feelin’ too great.” 

Tony clutches the blanket closed around his body with one hand, and then his eyes widen. He looks down at his hand, at the rough fabric of the blanket, and his fingers wander curiously across it. Evidently arrested by the feel of the blanket, Tony’s hand continues its journey for several moments, and then he turns wide eyes on Bucky.

“Can I?” He asks softly, and Bucky huffs a choked little laugh.

“Anythin’.” He assures Tony immediately. Tony keeps hold of the blanket with one hand, preserving his modesty by a bare inch, and reaches forward with the other. His fingers skim lightly across the metal of Bucky’s cybernetic arm, and the familiar light Bucky remembers from the captain’s chair sparks briefly before fading away. Tony trails his fingers up Bucky’s shoulder and then his cool palm is cupping Bucky’s jaw, thumb rasping gently over Bucky’s stubble. A flush of pink dusts the top of Tony’s cheekbones and the expression on his face is somewhere between awe and pain.

“You’re  _ warm. _ ” 

Bucky laughs helplessly and reaches up to take Tony’s hand in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze. Tony’s eyes fill with tears at the contact, and his fingers grip tightly around Bucky’s. Bucky uses the hold on Tony’s hand to stand, and then gently tug Tony to his feet. His limbs don’t quite seem to know what to do, and his legs nearly fold. Bucky wraps an arm around Tony’s waist out of habit more than anything, though Tony doesn’t seem to mind too much. The rest of the room is quiet, and Bucky appreciates how careful everyone is being not to overwhelm Tony; every touch against his skin seems to be some new revelation and Bucky can remember his own brush with sensory overload the first time he came out of cryo. 

But Tony seems to be almost  _ greedy  _ for it; where Bucky had shied away from the overwhelming press of the world, Tony rests easily against Bucky’s chest, their still joined hands resting between them. His eyes are bright and curious as they rove around the room, and he  _ beams  _ when they catch on Rhodes and Pepper.

“I remember,” He chokes out, his eyes bright with tears. “ _ Rhodey. Pepper. _ ” 

Pepper gasps out a sob and steps closer, reaching out to run gently fingers through the damp strands of Tony’s hair. Tony leans into the touch like a cat, though his fingers tighten around Bucky’s when he makes as though to step away.

“Don’t move, Bucky, you’re the only thing keeping me standing.” Tony admonishes, though his eyes don’t leave his friends. “Sugarplum,  _ get over here. _ ” 

Rhodes crosses the space rapidly and Bucky finds himself the centre of a very strange little group hug. Rhodes wraps an arm around Tony’s shoulders and presses a firm kiss to Tony’s temple, while Pepper keeps one arm around Rhodes and the other follows her husband’s around Tony. The moment doesn’t last too long, which Bucky is shamefully thankful for, and they all slowly step back. It leaves Bucky standing there with Tony still wrapped in his arm, supporting Tony’s weight while his legs seem to think about how to stand. Tony looks up at Bucky and his eyes are bright and affectionate; they spark blue for a moment, and Bucky feels the tentative brush of Tony’s mind against his own, unfurling faster when Bucky smiles his welcome.

He leans down and rests their foreheads together, his eyes closing at the touch. This, here, is what he was missing; the quickly growing warmth of Tony’s skin against his own, combined with the now familiar touch of Tony’s mind to his. Tony’s grip is firm on Bucky’s hand, and the warmth of his breath puffs gently across Bucky’s cheeks. Peace spreads through Bucky in a gentle wave and he can feel the dampness that indicates Tony lost the battle to his tears.

“It’s all so much,” Tony confesses into the bare space between them. “And it’s  _ perfect. _ ” 

“No regrets, then?” Bucky smiles helplessly, though he makes no attempt to move back.

“No, none. Ask me later when we’re being shot at by HYDRA.” Tony slowly pulls away, though he’s clearly reluctant, and turns to look at the Avengers over Bucky’s shoulder. He lifts the hand not currently wrapped in Bucky’s and waves it a little. “Hi, I’m Tony Stark, and I think I might be the Technopath you’re looking for.”

#  END...FOR NOW

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Tune in next time for more space battles, shenanigans and romance!


End file.
